Ca 2+ play a key role in cell signaling across organisms. The question of how a simple ion can mediate specific outcomes has spurred research into the role of Ca 2+ signatures and their encoding and decoding machinery. Such studies have frequently focused on Ca 2+ alone and our understanding of how Ca 2+ signaling is integrated with other responses is poor. Using in vivo imaging with different genetically encoded fluorescent sensors in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) cells, we show that Ca 2+ transients do not occur in isolation but are accompanied by pH changes in the cytosol. We estimate the degree of cytosolic acidification at up to 0.25 pH units in response to external ATP in seedling root tips. We validated this pH-Ca 2+ link for distinct stimuli. Our data suggest that the association with pH may be a general feature of Ca 2+ transients that depends on the transient characteristics and the intracellular compartment. These findings suggest a fundamental link between Ca 2+ and pH dynamics in plant cells, generalizing previous observations of their association in growing pollen tubes and root hairs. Ca 2+ signatures act in concert with pH signatures, possibly providing an additional layer of cellular signal transduction to tailor signal specificity.

To uptake calcium ions of mitochondria is of significant functional connotation for cells, because calcium ions in mitochondria are involved in energy production, regulatory signals transfer, and mitochondrial permeability transition pore opening and even programmed cell death of apoptosis, further playing more roles in plant productivity and quality. Cytoplasmic calcium ions access into outer mitochondrial membrane (OMM) from voltage dependent anion-selective channel (VDAC) and were absorbed into inner mitochondrial membrane (IMM) by mitochondrial calcium uniporter (MCU), rapid mitochondrial calcium uptake (RaM) or mitochondrial ryanodine receptor (mRyR). Although both mitochondria and the mechanisms of calcium transport have been extensively studied, but there are still long-standing or even new challenges. Here we review the history and recent discoveries of the mitochondria calcium ions channel complex involved calcium assimilation, and discuss the role of calcium ions into mitochondria.

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The plant Sophora tonkinensis, possessed a range of active compounds, was traditionally used in the medicine of Chinese minorities. Endophytic fungi were isolated from this plant, of which the fungus Diaporthe sp. GDG-118 was fermented and extracted with methanol. The extract was screened by antifungal and antibacterial assays leading to the discovery of two new 21-acetoxycytochalasins (1-2) and five known cytochalasins (3-7). These two new compounds were elucidated by spectroscopic analyses, and further their absolute configurations were determined by the X-ray of compound 3 and comparing their experimental CD spectra. The antibacterial and antifungal effects of these compounds were evaluated. Compound 2 showed moderate inhibitory activity against Bacillus anthraci and Escherichia coli with MIC value of 12.5 μg/mL, and 7 showed strong antifungal activity against Alternaria oleracea, Pestalotiopsis theae and Colletotrichum capsici with MIC values of 3.125 μg/mL, 1.56 μg/mL and 1.56 μg/mL, respectively.

Ca2+ signaling is central to plant development and acclimation. While Ca2+-responsive proteins have been investigated intensely in plants, only a few Ca2+-permeable channels have been identified, and our understanding of how intracellular Ca2+ fluxes are facilitated remains limited. Arabidopsis thaliana homologues of the mammalian channel-forming mitochondrial calcium uniporter (MCU) protein showed Ca2+ transport activity in vitro. Yet, the evolutionary complexity of MCU proteins, as well as reports about alternative systems and unperturbed mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake in knockout lines of MCU genes, leave critical questions about the in vivo functions of the MCU protein family in plants unanswered. Here, we demonstrate that MCU proteins mediate mitochondrial Ca2+ transport in planta and that this mechanism is the major route for fast Ca2+ uptake. Guided by the subcellular localization, expression, and conservation of MCU proteins, we generated an mcu triple knockout line. Using Ca2+ imaging in living root tips and the stimulation of Ca2+ transients of different amplitudes, we demonstrated that mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake became limiting in the triple mutant. The drastic cell physiological phenotype of impaired subcellular Ca2+ transport coincided with deregulated jasmonate-related signaling and thigmomorphogenesis. Our findings establish MCUs as a major mitochondrial Ca2+ entry route in planta and link mitochondrial Ca2+ transport with phytohormone signaling.

Three new andrastin derivatives, 10-formyl andrastone A (1), 10-demethylated andrastone A (2) and andrastin G (3), together with four known andrastin analogues (4-7) were isolated from an endophytic fungus Penicillium vulpinum. Their structures were determined by 1D, 2D NMR, and the absolute configurations were further determined by experimental and calculated ECD spectra.Compound 5 exhibited significant antibacterial activity against Bacillus paratyphosus B with an MIC value of 6.25 µg•mL -1 . Compounds 2 and 6 showed remarkable inhibitory activities against Bacillus megaterium with the MIC value of 6.25 µg•mL -1 , respectively.

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