Actin Cytoskeleton as Actor in Upstream and Downstream of Calcium Signaling in Plant Cells

Abstract

In plant cells, calcium (Ca2+) serves as a versatile intracellular messenger, participating in several fundamental and important biological processes. Recent studies have shown that the actin cytoskeleton is not only an upstream regulator of Ca2+ signaling, but also a downstream regulator. Ca2+ has been shown to regulates actin dynamics and rearrangements via different mechanisms in plants, and on this basis, the upstream signaling encoded within the Ca2+ transient can be decoded. Moreover, actin dynamics have also been proposed to act as an upstream of Ca2+, adjust Ca2+ oscillations, and establish cytosolic Ca2+ ([Ca2+]cyt) gradients in plant cells. In the current review, we focus on the advances in uncovering the relationship between the actin cytoskeleton and calcium in plant cells and summarize our current understanding of this relationship.