Calcium signalling articles within Nature

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  • Article
    | Open Access

    Screening in Escherichia coli and biochemical experiments show that in Arabidopsis thaliana, OSCA2.1 and OSCA2.2 function as plant sensors of hypo-osmolarity, utilize Ca2+ oscillations as second messengers and have crucial roles in pollen germination.

    • Songyu Pei
    • , Qi Tao
    •  & Fang Yuan

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Several independent lines of evidence demonstrated long-term potentiation induction by a structural function of calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II rather than by its enzymatic activity.

    • Jonathan E. Tullis
    • , Matthew E. Larsen
    •  & K. Ulrich Bayer

  • Letter |

    The cyclic nucleotide-gated channel proteins CNGC2 and CNGC4 form a calcium channel in Arabidopsis; this channel is blocked by calmodulin in the resting state but is phosphorylated and activated upon pathogen attack, triggering an increase in cytosolic calcium levels.

    • Wang Tian
    • , Congcong Hou
    •  & Sheng Luan

  • Article |

    Drosophila intestinal stem cells (ISCs) respond to changes in diet, particularly L-glutamate levels, by modulating Ca2+ signalling to adapt their proliferation rate; furthermore, Ca2+ is shown to be central to the response of ISCs to a wide range of dietary and stress stimuli.

    • Hansong Deng
    • , Akos A. Gerencser
    •  & Heinrich Jasper

  • Letter |

    Osmotic stress is known to induce a transient increase in cytoplasmic Ca2+ concentration [Ca2+]i in plants, and now OSCA1 is identified as a long-sought Ca2+ channel that mediates [Ca2+]i increases—mutants lacking OSCA1 function have impaired osmotic Ca2+ signalling in guard cells and root cells, and reduced transpiration regulation and root growth under osmotic stress.

    • Fang Yuan
    • , Huimin Yang
    •  & Zhen-Ming Pei

  • Letter |

    Primary cilia are known as specialized calcium signalling compartments on the cell surface, but the ionic permeability and other physiological properties of these protrusions are unknown—this is one of two studies identifying the ion channels that densely populate primary cilia, with direct measurements revealing cilia as a unique, functionally independent calcium signalling compartment that modulates hedgehog signalling pathways.

    • Markus Delling
    • , Paul G. DeCaen
    •  & David E. Clapham

  • Letter |

    Detailed characterization of the regulatory domain of a plasma-membrane Ca2+-ATPase — a calcium pump — in complex with calmodulin results in a two-step structural model that explains how calmodulin-mediated regulation of pump activation affords highly responsive control over the intracellular calcium concentration in eukaryotes.

    • Henning Tidow
    • , Lisbeth R. Poulsen
    •  & Poul Nissen

  • Letter |

    Progesterone stimulates an increase in Ca2+ levels in human sperm, but the underlying signalling mechanism is poorly understood. Two studies now show that progesterone activates the sperm-specific, pH-sensitive CatSper calcium channel, leading to a rapid influx of Ca2+ ions into the spermatozoa. These results should help to define the physiological role of progesterone and CatSper in sperm, and could lead to the development of new classes of non-hormonal contraceptives.

    • Timo Strünker
    • , Normann Goodwin
    •  & U. Benjamin Kaupp

  • News & Views |

    Mitochondria — the cell's power plants — increase their energy production in response to calcium signals in the cytoplasm. A regulator of the elusive mitochondrial calcium channel has now been identified.

    • Sean Collins
    •  & Tobias Meyer

  • Article |

    The uptake of calcium by mitochondria has a central role in cell physiology, and an imbalance can trigger cell death. Now the first protein that is localized to the mitochondrion and is specifically required for calcium uptake has been identified. This protein, mitochondrial calcium uptake 1 (MICU1), represents the founding member of a set of proteins required for high-capacity calcium uptake. Its discovery should aid in the full molecular characterization of the mitochondrial calcium uptake pathways.

    • Fabiana Perocchi
    • , Vishal M. Gohil
    •  & Vamsi K. Mootha

  • Article |

    Many sensory neurons in the mammalian cortex are tuned to specific stimulus features — for example, some fire only when horizontal bars move from top to bottom in the visual field. But it has been unclear whether such tuning is encoded in a neuron's inputs, or whether the neuron itself computes its response. Here, a new technique for visualizing and mapping sensory inputs to the dendrites of neurons in the mouse visual cortex has shown that each neuron makes its own 'decision' as to the orientation preference of its output.

    • Hongbo Jia
    • , Nathalie L. Rochefort
    •  & Arthur Konnerth

  • Letter |

    Plants and animals sense intruding pathogens by using proteins that recognize diverse microbe-associated molecular patterns (MAMPs) and initiate innate immune responses. Early signalling responses in the host include calcium influx, an oxidative burst and transcriptional reprogramming. Here, four calcium-dependent protein kinases are described that function as calcium sensors, act as convergence points for various MAMPs, and are crucial for transcriptional reprogramming and oxidative burst in plants.

    • Marie Boudsocq
    • , Matthew R. Willmann
    •  & Jen Sheen

  • Letter |

    Ca2+ channels and calmodulin (CaM) are two prominent hubs of biological signalling networks, affecting functions such as cardiac excitability and gene transcription. The prevailing view has been that the ultrastrong affinity of channels for the Ca2+-free form of calmodulin (apoCaM) ensures their saturation with CaM and yields a form of concentration independence between Ca2+ channels and CaM. Here, however, significant exceptions to this autonomy are shown to exist.

    • Xiaodong Liu
    • , Philemon S. Yang
    •  & David T. Yue

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