Decoding early stress signaling waves in living plants using nanosensor multiplexing

• Published in: Nature communications Vol. 15; no. 1; p. 2943
• Main Authors: Ang, Mervin Chun-Yi, Saju, Jolly Madathiparambil, Porter, Thomas K., Mohaideen, Sayyid, Sarangapani, Sreelatha, Khong, Duc Thinh, Wang, Song, Cui, Jianqiao, Loh, Suh In, Singh, Gajendra Pratap, Chua, Nam-Hai, Strano, Michael S., Sarojam, Rajani
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 05.04.2024; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 631/449/2661/2662; 631/449/2661/2666; 639/925/927/356; Abiotic stress; Acid resistance; Adaptation; Biosensors; Brassica rapa - physiology; Chlorophyll; Climate change; Crop resilience; Crops; Environmental conditions; Environmental stress; Hormones; Humanities and Social Sciences; Hydrogen peroxide; Hydrogen Peroxide - pharmacology; Infections; Metabolism; multidisciplinary; Multiplexing; Nanosensors; Pathogens; Plant growth; Plant Growth Regulators - pharmacology; Plant growth substances; Plants; Polymers; Salicylic Acid; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Sensors; Stress response; Stress, Physiological; Waveforms; Wounding
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-47082-1

Increased exposure to environmental stresses due to climate change have adversely affected plant growth and productivity. Upon stress, plants activate a signaling cascade, involving multiple molecules like H 2 O 2, and plant hormones such as salicylic acid (SA) leading to resistance or stress adaptation. However, the temporal ordering and composition of the resulting cascade remains largely unknown. In this study we developed a nanosensor for SA and multiplexed it with H 2 O 2 nanosensor for simultaneous monitoring of stress-induced H 2 O 2 and SA signals when Brassica rapa subsp. Chinensis (Pak choi) plants were subjected to distinct stress treatments, namely light, heat, pathogen stress and mechanical wounding. Nanosensors reported distinct dynamics and temporal wave characteristics of H 2 O 2 and SA generation for each stress. Based on these temporal insights, we have formulated a biochemical kinetic model that suggests the early H 2 O 2 waveform encodes information specific to each stress type. These results demonstrate that sensor multiplexing can reveal stress signaling mechanisms in plants, aiding in developing climate-resilient crops and pre-symptomatic stress diagnoses. Upon stress, plants activate a signaling cascade leading to resistance or stress adaptation. Here, Ang & Saju et al . use sensor multiplexing to elucidate the interplay between H 2 O 2 and SA signaling as plants mount stress-specific defense responses.