Chloroplast Calcium Signaling in the Spotlight

Calcium has long been known to regulate the metabolism of chloroplasts, concerning both light and carbon reactions of photosynthesis, as well as additional non photosynthesis-related processes. In addition to undergo Ca2+ regulation, chloroplasts can also influence the overall Ca2+ signaling pathway...

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Main Authors: Lorella Navazio, Elide Formentin, Laura Cendron, Ildikò Szabò
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2020-03-01
Series:Frontiers in Plant Science
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpls.2020.00186/full
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author Lorella Navazio
Lorella Navazio
Elide Formentin
Elide Formentin
Laura Cendron
Ildikò Szabò
Ildikò Szabò
author_facet Lorella Navazio
Lorella Navazio
Elide Formentin
Elide Formentin
Laura Cendron
Ildikò Szabò
Ildikò Szabò
author_sort Lorella Navazio
collection DOAJ
description Calcium has long been known to regulate the metabolism of chloroplasts, concerning both light and carbon reactions of photosynthesis, as well as additional non photosynthesis-related processes. In addition to undergo Ca2+ regulation, chloroplasts can also influence the overall Ca2+ signaling pathways of the plant cell. Compelling evidence indicate that chloroplasts can generate specific stromal Ca2+ signals and contribute to the fine tuning of cytoplasmic Ca2+ signaling in response to different environmental stimuli. The recent set up of a toolkit of genetically encoded Ca2+ indicators, targeted to different chloroplast subcompartments (envelope, stroma, thylakoids) has helped to unravel the participation of chloroplasts in intracellular Ca2+ handling in resting conditions and during signal transduction. Intra-chloroplast Ca2+ signals have been demonstrated to occur in response to specific environmental stimuli, suggesting a role for these plant-unique organelles in transducing Ca2+-mediated stress signals. In this mini-review we present current knowledge of stimulus-specific intra-chloroplast Ca2+ transients, as well as recent advances in the identification and characterization of Ca2+-permeable channels/transporters localized at chloroplast membranes. In particular, the potential role played by cMCU, a chloroplast-localized member of the mitochondrial calcium uniporter (MCU) family, as component of plant environmental sensing is discussed in detail, taking into account some specific structural features of cMCU. In summary, the recent molecular identification of some players of chloroplast Ca2+ signaling has opened new avenues in this rapidly developing field and will hopefully allow a deeper understanding of the role of chloroplasts in shaping physiological responses in plants.
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spelling doaj.art-003d8a0086724933b3442ca044a03f282022-12-22T00:52:06ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Plant Science1664-462X2020-03-011110.3389/fpls.2020.00186518823Chloroplast Calcium Signaling in the SpotlightLorella Navazio0Lorella Navazio1Elide Formentin2Elide Formentin3Laura Cendron4Ildikò Szabò5Ildikò Szabò6Department of Biology, University of Padova, Padova, ItalyBotanical Garden, University of Padova, Padova, ItalyDepartment of Biology, University of Padova, Padova, ItalyBotanical Garden, University of Padova, Padova, ItalyDepartment of Biology, University of Padova, Padova, ItalyDepartment of Biology, University of Padova, Padova, ItalyBotanical Garden, University of Padova, Padova, ItalyCalcium has long been known to regulate the metabolism of chloroplasts, concerning both light and carbon reactions of photosynthesis, as well as additional non photosynthesis-related processes. In addition to undergo Ca2+ regulation, chloroplasts can also influence the overall Ca2+ signaling pathways of the plant cell. Compelling evidence indicate that chloroplasts can generate specific stromal Ca2+ signals and contribute to the fine tuning of cytoplasmic Ca2+ signaling in response to different environmental stimuli. The recent set up of a toolkit of genetically encoded Ca2+ indicators, targeted to different chloroplast subcompartments (envelope, stroma, thylakoids) has helped to unravel the participation of chloroplasts in intracellular Ca2+ handling in resting conditions and during signal transduction. Intra-chloroplast Ca2+ signals have been demonstrated to occur in response to specific environmental stimuli, suggesting a role for these plant-unique organelles in transducing Ca2+-mediated stress signals. In this mini-review we present current knowledge of stimulus-specific intra-chloroplast Ca2+ transients, as well as recent advances in the identification and characterization of Ca2+-permeable channels/transporters localized at chloroplast membranes. In particular, the potential role played by cMCU, a chloroplast-localized member of the mitochondrial calcium uniporter (MCU) family, as component of plant environmental sensing is discussed in detail, taking into account some specific structural features of cMCU. In summary, the recent molecular identification of some players of chloroplast Ca2+ signaling has opened new avenues in this rapidly developing field and will hopefully allow a deeper understanding of the role of chloroplasts in shaping physiological responses in plants.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpls.2020.00186/fullchloroplastsorganellar calcium signalingcalcium-permeable channelscalcium transporterscalcium binding proteinsgenetically encoded calcium indicators
spellingShingle Lorella Navazio
Lorella Navazio
Elide Formentin
Elide Formentin
Laura Cendron
Ildikò Szabò
Ildikò Szabò
Chloroplast Calcium Signaling in the Spotlight
Frontiers in Plant Science
chloroplasts
organellar calcium signaling
calcium-permeable channels
calcium transporters
calcium binding proteins
genetically encoded calcium indicators
title Chloroplast Calcium Signaling in the Spotlight
title_full Chloroplast Calcium Signaling in the Spotlight
title_fullStr Chloroplast Calcium Signaling in the Spotlight
title_full_unstemmed Chloroplast Calcium Signaling in the Spotlight
title_short Chloroplast Calcium Signaling in the Spotlight
title_sort chloroplast calcium signaling in the spotlight
topic chloroplasts
organellar calcium signaling
calcium-permeable channels
calcium transporters
calcium binding proteins
genetically encoded calcium indicators
url https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpls.2020.00186/full
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AT elideformentin chloroplastcalciumsignalinginthespotlight
AT elideformentin chloroplastcalciumsignalinginthespotlight
AT lauracendron chloroplastcalciumsignalinginthespotlight
AT ildikoszabo chloroplastcalciumsignalinginthespotlight
AT ildikoszabo chloroplastcalciumsignalinginthespotlight