The calcium sensor CBL1 integrates plant responses to abiotic stresses

• Published in: The Plant journal : for cell and molecular biology 2003-11, Vol.36 (4), p.457-470
• Main Authors: Albrecht, Verónica, Weinl, Stefan, Blazevic, Dragica, D'Angelo, Cecilia, Batistic, Oliver, Kolukisaoglu, Üner, Bock, Ralph, Schulz, Burkhard, Harter, Klaus, Kudla, Jörg
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Abscisic Acid - pharmacology; Arabidopsis - genetics; Arabidopsis - metabolism; Arabidopsis Proteins - genetics; Arabidopsis Proteins - metabolism; Arabidopsis thaliana; Biological and medical sciences; Calcium - metabolism; calcium signaling; Calcium Signaling - drug effects; Calcium Signaling - genetics; Calcium-Binding Proteins - genetics; Calcium-Binding Proteins - metabolism; CBL1; CBL1 protein; Cell physiology; cold stress; Cold Temperature; Disasters; DNA, Bacterial - chemistry; DNA, Bacterial - genetics; drought stress; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; Molecular and cellular biology; Mutation; Plant Transpiration - drug effects; Plants, Genetically Modified; salt stress; Signal transduction; Sodium Chloride - pharmacology; stress response; Stress, Mechanical; Transcription Factors - genetics; Transcription Factors - metabolism
• ISSN: 0960-7412; 1365-313X
• DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-313X.2003.01892.x

Summary Calcium ions represent both an integrative signal and an important convergence point of many disparate signaling pathways. Calcium‐binding proteins, like calcineurin B‐like (CBL) proteins, have been implicated as important relays in calcium signaling. Here, we report the in vivo study of CBL1 function in Arabidopsis. Analyses of loss‐of‐function as well as CBL1‐overexpressing lines indicate a crucial function of this calcium sensor protein in abiotic stress responses. Mutation of CBL1 impairs plant responses to drought and salt stresses and affects gene expression of cold‐regulated genes, but does not affect abscisic acid (ABA) responsiveness. Conversely, overexpression of CBL1 reduces transpirational water loss and induces the expression of early stress‐responsive transcription factors and stress adaptation genes in non‐stressed plants. Together, our data indicate that the calcium sensor protein CBL1 may constitute an integrative node in plant responses to abiotic stimuli and contributes to the regulation of early stress‐related transcription factors of the C‐Repeat‐Binding Factor/dehydration‐responsive element (CBF/DREB) type.