Calcium (Ca2+ ) sensors and MYC2 are crucial players during jasmonates-mediated abiotic stress tolerance in plants

Abstract

Plants evolve stress-specific responses that sense changes in their external environmental conditions and develop various mechanisms for acclimatization and survival. Calcium (Ca²⁺ ) is an essential stress-sensing secondary messenger in plants. Ca²⁺ sensors, including calcium-dependent protein kinases (CDPKs), calmodulins (CaMs), CaM-like proteins (CMLs), and calcineurin B-like proteins (CBLs), are involved in jasmonates (JAs) signalling and biosynthesis. Moreover, JAs are phospholipid-derived phytohormones that control plant response to abiotic stresses. The JAs signalling pathway affects hormone-receptor gene transcription by binding to the basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factor. MYC2 acts as a master regulator of JAs signalling module assimilated through various genes. The Ca²⁺ sensor CML regulates MYC2 and is involved in a distinct mechanism mediating JAs signalling during abiotic stresses. This review highlights the pivotal role of the Ca²⁺ sensors in JAs biosynthesis and MYC2-mediated JAs signalling during abiotic stresses in plants.

Keywords: Abiotic stress; Ca2+ sensors; JAs biosynthesis; MYC2; Plants; Stress sensing.