Calcium and Calmodulin-Mediated Regulation of Gene Expression in Plants

Sessile plants have developed a very delicate system to sense diverse kinds of endogenous developmental cues and exogenous environmental stimuli by using a simple Ca(2+) ion. Calmodulin (CaM) is the predominant Ca(2+) sensor and plays a crucial role in decoding the Ca(2+) signatures into proper cellular responses in various cellular compartments in eukaryotes. A growing body of evidence points to the importance of Ca(2+) and CaM in the regulation of the transcriptional process during plant responses to endogenous and exogenous stimuli. Here, we review recent progress in the identification of transcriptional regulators modulated by Ca(2+) and CaM and in the assessment of their functional significance during plant signal transduction in response to biotic and abiotic stresses and developmental cues.