Temperature sensing by plants: the primary characteristics of signal perception and calcium response

Abstract

Cold elicits an immediate rise in the cytosolic free calcium concentration ([Ca²⁺]_c) of plant cells. We have studied the concerted action of the three underlying mechanisms, namely sensing, sensitisation and desensitisation, which become important when plants in the field are subjected to changes in temperature. We applied different regimes of temperature changes with well-defined cooling rates to intact roots of Arabidopsis thaliana expressing the calcium-indicator, aequorin. Our results indicate that temperature sensing is mainly dependent on the cooling rate, dT/dt, whereas the absolute temperature T is of less importance. Arabidopsis roots were found to be sensitive to cooling rates of less than dT/dt = 0.01°C/s. However, at cooling rates below 0.003°C/s (i.e. cooling 10°C in 1 h) there is no detectable [Ca²⁺]_cresponse at all. At low temperature, the sensitivity of the plant cold-detection system is increased. This in turn produces greater cooling-induced [Ca²⁺]_celevations. Prolonged or repeated cold treatment attenuates the [Ca²⁺]_cresponses to subsequent episodes of cooling.