The role of CDPKs in plant development, nutrient and stress signaling

Simon Dontoro Dekomah; Zhenzhen Bi; Richard Dormatey; Yihao Wang; Fasih Ullah Haider; Chao Sun; Panfeng Yao; Jiangping Bai

doi:10.3389/fgene.2022.996203

The role of CDPKs in plant development, nutrient and stress signaling

Front Genet. 2022 Sep 30:13:996203. doi: 10.3389/fgene.2022.996203. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Simon Dontoro Dekomah^{1

2}, Zhenzhen Bi^{1

2}, Richard Dormatey^{1

2}, Yihao Wang^{1

2}, Fasih Ullah Haider^{2

3}, Chao Sun^{1

2}, Panfeng Yao¹, Jiangping Bai^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Gansu Provincial Key Laboratory of Aridland Crop Science, Lanzhou, China.
² College of Agronomy, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou, China.
³ College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou, China.

Abstract

The second messenger calcium (Ca²⁺) is a ubiquitous intracellular signaling molecule found in eukaryotic cells. In plants, the multigene family of calcium-dependent protein kinases (CDPKs) plays an important role in regulating plant growth, development, and stress tolerance. CDPKs sense changes in intracellular Ca²⁺ concentration and translate them into phosphorylation events that initiate downstream signaling processes. Several functional and expression studies on different CDPKs and their encoding genes have confirmed their multifunctional role in stress. Here, we provide an overview of the signal transduction mechanisms and functional roles of CDPKs. This review includes details on the regulation of secondary metabolites, nutrient uptake, regulation of flower development, hormonal regulation, and biotic and abiotic stress responses.

Keywords: biotic and abiotic stress; calcium; calcium-dependent protein kinases; plants; stress tolerance.

Publication types

Review