Calcium opens the dialogue between plants and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi

摘要

Calcium ion is considered a ubiquitous second messenger in all eukaryotic cells. Analysis of intracellular Ca²⁺ concentration dynamics has demonstrated its signalling role in plant cells in response to a wide array of environmental cues. The implication of Ca²⁺ in the early steps of the arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis has been frequently claimed, mainly by analogy with what firmly demonstrated in the rhizobium-legume symbiosis. We recently documented transient Ca²⁺ changes in plant cells challenged with diffusible molecules released by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Ca²⁺ measurements by the recombinant aequorin method provided new insights into the molecular communications between plants and these beneficial fungi.