Mastering the plant growth symphony: The interplay between calcium sensing machinery and phytohormone signaling during abiotic stress

• Published in: Biochimica et biophysica acta. General subjects Vol. 1869; no. 8; p. 130820
• Main Authors: Seth, Tanashvi, Saxena, Shruti, Ravi, Barkha, Pandey, Girdhar K.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 01.07.2025
• Subjects: Abiotic stressors; Calcium - metabolism; Calcium Signaling; Climate Change; Phytohormones; Plant Development; Plant Growth Regulators - metabolism; Plant resilience; Plants - metabolism; Signal Transduction; Signaling cascade; Stress tolerance; Stress, Physiological; Calcium signaling; Signaling cascade; Phytohormones; Plant resilience; Stress tolerance; Abiotic stressors
• ISSN: 0304-4165; 1872-8006; 1872-8006
• DOI: 10.1016/j.bbagen.2025.130820

Climate change introduces a multitude of abiotic stressors, affecting plants' ability to thrive and produce. Abiotic stresses significantly impair plant growth, development, and production, jeopardizing food security. Despite extensive research on individual stress adaptation mechanisms, a critical gap remains in understanding the synergistic role of calcium (Ca2+) signaling and phytohormonal regulation in plant stress responses. Ca2+, a ubiquitous second messenger, plays a pivotal role in stress perception and signal transduction, while phytohormones regulate adaptive physiological and molecular responses. This review aims to bridge the knowledge gap by synthesizing recent advancements in Ca2+-phytohormone interactions and their combined role in enhancing plant resilience to abiotic stress. Hence, understanding these interconnected signaling cascades would pave the path for the development of innovative strategies for enhancing crop stress tolerance, thereby promoting sustainable agriculture in the face of climate change. Calcium-Phytohormone interplay: A central signaling pathway in plant stress tolerance. The five major abiotic stresses are depicted with icons: Temperature stress (hot/cold), submergence stress (rain/flooding), salinity stress (salt crystals), drought stress (water restriction), and nutrient deficiency stress. The center shows a tree that receives these abiotic stress signals, which are then sensed by calcium (Ca2+) sensing/responding machinery. The blue hexagon details this process, showing Ca2+ sensors and responders (including CaMs/CMLs, CDPKs, CBLs, CIPKs) that further activate downstream targets like transcription factors, enzymes, channels, and transporters. This Ca2+ signaling components crosstalk with phytohormone signaling (shown in the orange/pink box on the right), which includes auxin, cytokinin, gibberellin, salicylic acid, jasmonic acid, ethylene, abscisic acid, nitric acid, and brassinosteroid. The bottom green bar indicates the outcome of these interconnected signaling pathways: Abiotic stress tolerance, which enables plants to survive and adapt better to challenging environmental conditions [Display omitted] •Ca2+ and phytohormones act as pivotal regulators of plant signaling networks.•Ca2+ sensing machinery and phytohormone interaction jointly mediate abiotic stress tolerance.•Ca2+ − phytohormone crosstalk bridges different signaling pathways in stress regulation.•Synergistic role of Ca2+ and phytohormone signaling to promote stress adaptation.