Novel and improved analytical methods have led to a rapid increase in our understanding of the molecular mechanism underlying plant signal transduction. Progress has been made both at the level of single-component analysis and in vivo imaging as well as at the systems level where transcriptomics and particularly phosphoproteomics afford a window into complex biological responses. Here we review the role of the cyclic nucleotides cAMP and cGMP in plant signal transduction as well as the discovery and biochemical and biological characterization of an increasing number of complex multi-domain nucleotide cyclases that catalyze the synthesis of cAMP and cGMP from ATP and GTP, respectively.