Glutamate triggers long-distance, calcium-based plant defense signaling

Abstract

Animals require rapid, long-range molecular signaling networks to integrate sensing and response throughout their bodies. The amino acid glutamate acts as an excitatory neurotransmitter in the vertebrate central nervous system, facilitating long-range information exchange via activation of glutamate receptor channels. Similarly, plants sense local signals, such as herbivore attack, and transmit this information throughout the plant body to rapidly activate defense responses in undamaged parts. Here we show that glutamate is a wound signal in plants. Ion channels of the family act as sensors that convert this signal into an increase in intracellular calcium ion concentration that propagates to distant organs, where defense responses are then induced.

Plant immunity in signal integration between biotic and abiotic stress responses

“…Plant immunity also relies on noncell autonomous signaling (Jones & Dangl, 2006). Following localized pathogen/damage recognition, long-distance mobile signals are rapidly generated, and then transmitted throughout the plant (Hartmann et al, 2018;Toyota et al, 2018). This eventually leads to systemic acquired resistance, an enhanced state of whole-plant immunity to a broad-spectrum of pathogens (Fu & Dong, 2013).…”

The Emergence of Plant Nanobionics and Living Plants as Technology

“…Plants have evolved complex signaling pathways to perceive changes in their surroundings. In response to various biotic and abiotic stresses, plants engage multiple signaling pathways to reprogram their cellular transcriptional machinery and metabolic responses to boost their fitness under stress . Perception of stress stimuli and transduction involve the production of phytohormones and short‐lived signaling molecules such as reactive oxygen species (ROS) and intracellular calcium (Ca 2+ ) which rapidly (within seconds) propagate throughout the plant as waves, triggering systemic signaling mechanisms .…”

“…Perception of stress stimuli and transduction involve the production of phytohormones and short‐lived signaling molecules such as reactive oxygen species (ROS) and intracellular calcium (Ca 2+ ) which rapidly (within seconds) propagate throughout the plant as waves, triggering systemic signaling mechanisms . Genetically‐encoded biosensors for several key plant hormones, metabolites and Ca 2+ /ROS are available but requires the generation of transgenic plants and are therefore limited to genetically amenable plant species such as Arabidopsis thaliana . Thus, applications of sensing within nontransgenic plants and crops have been hampered by the need to develop species‐specific genetic transformation techniques and slow rate of optimization per species.…”

A Sub‐10 nm Vertical Organic/Inorganic Hybrid Transistor for Pain‐Perceptual and Sensitization‐Regulated Nociceptor Emulation

“…[10,11] Endowing the bionic machines with these great sensitization characteristics can significantly improve their intelligent qualities to the next-generation electronic devices. [58] Then, the Glu bind to Glu receptors in postsynaptic membranes, resulting in a calcium influx, as illustrated in the left panel of Figure 5a. [44] Central sensitization of nociceptors is a regulation of sensitivity, and it is a manifestation of the notable plasticity of the somatosensory CNS in response to neural injury, activity, and inflammation.…”

“…[56,57] When a nociceptor is activated by harmful stimuli, glutamate (Glu) is released from the presynaptic membrane into the synaptic cleft. [58] Then, the Glu bind to Glu receptors in postsynaptic membranes, resulting in a calcium influx, as illustrated in the left panel of Figure 5a. This activation of Glu receptors finally induces a significant increase of Ca 2+ that can successively activate the protein kinase C (PKC) and calcium-calmodulindependent protein kinase II (CaMKII), which are two major effectors of SRN, [59] as illustrated in the right panel of Figure 5a.…”