Proteinaceous and oligosaccharidic elicitors induce different calcium signatures in the nucleus of tobacco cells.

We previously reported elevated cytosolic calcium levels in tobacco cells in response to elicitors [D. Lecourieux, C. Mazars, N. Pauly, R. Ranjeva, A. Pugin, Analysis and effects of cytosolic free calcium elevations in response to elicitors in Nicotiana plumbaginifolia cells, Plant Cell 14 (2002) 2627-2641]. These data suggested that in response to elicitors, Ca2+, as a second messenger, was involved in both systemic acquired resistance (RSA) and/or hypersensitive response (HR) depending on calcium signature. Here, we used transformed tobacco cells with apoaequorin expressed in the nucleus to monitor changes in free nuclear calcium concentrations ([Ca2+](nuc)) in response to elicitors. Two …

Calcium homeostasis in plant cell nuclei

International audience; In plant cells, calcium-based signaling pathways are involved in a large array of biological processes, including cell division, polarity, growth, development and adaptation to changing biotic and abiotic environmental conditions. Free calcium changes are known to proceed in a nonstereotypical manner and produce a specific signature, which mirrors the nature, strength and frequency of a stimulus. The temporal aspects of calcium signatures are well documented, but their vectorial aspects also have a profound influence on biological output. Here, we will focus on the regulation of calcium homeostasis in the nucleus. We will discuss data and present hypotheses suggestin…

Intracellular compartmentation and plant cell signalling

Compartmentation is an essential feature of eukaryotic cells, and is crucial for the regulation of cell metabolism. Recent progress has significantly improved the understanding of signal transduction pathways in plants, including the activation of light-signalling networks and the tightly controlled generation of the calcium message. Cell compartmentation is important for the regulation and proliferation of these signalling processes.

Nuclear protein kinases: still enigmatic components in plant cell signalling

International audience; Plants constantly face changing conditions in their environment. Unravelling the transduction mechanisms from signal perception at the plasma membrane level down to gene expression in the nucleus is a fascinating challenge. Protein phosphorylation, catalysed by protein kinases, is one of the major posttranslational modifications involved in the specificity, kinetic(s) and intensity of a signal transduction pathway. Although commonly assumed, the involvement of nuclear protein kinases in signal transduction is often poorly characterized. In particular, both their regulation and mode of action remain to be elucidated and may lead to the unveiling of new original mechan…

Calcium in plant defence‐signalling pathways

In plant cells, the calcium ion is a ubiquitous intracellular second messenger involved in numerous signalling pathways. Variations in the cytosolic concentration of Ca2+ ([Ca2+]cyt) couple a large array of signals and responses. Here we concentrate on calcium signalling in plant defence responses, particularly on the generation of the calcium signal and downstream calcium-dependent events participating in the establishment of defence responses with special reference to calcium-binding proteins.

Cryptogein, a fungal elicitor, remodels the phenylpropanoid metabolism of tobacco cell suspension cultures in a calcium-dependent manner

Plant cells use calcium-based signalling pathways to transduce biotic and/or abiotic stimuli into adaptive responses. However, little is known about the coupling between calcium signalling, transcriptional regulation and the downstream biochemical processes. To understand these relationships better, we challenged tobacco BY-2 cells with cryptogein and evaluated how calcium transients (monitored through the calcium sensor aequorin) impact (1) transcript levels of phenylpropanoid genes (assessed by RT-qPCR); and (2) derived-phenolic compounds (analysed by mass spectrometry). Most genes of the phenylpropanoid pathway were up-regulated by cryptogein and cell wall-bound phenolic compounds accumu…

Calcium signaling in plant cell organelles delimited by a double membrane.

AbstractIncreases in the concentration of free calcium in the cytosol are one of the general events that relay an external stimulus to the internal cellular machinery and allow eukaryotic organisms, including plants, to mount a specific biological response. Different lines of evidence have shown that other intracellular organelles contribute to the regulation of free calcium homeostasis in the cytosol. The vacuoles, the endoplasmic reticulum and the cell wall constitute storage compartments for mobilizable calcium. In contrast, the role of organelles surrounded by a double membrane (e.g. mitochondria, chloroplasts and nuclei) is more complex. Here, we review experimental data showing that t…

Signalisation calcique cytosolique et nucléaire et réponses des plantes aux stimulus biotiques et abiotiques