Cell signaling under salt, water and cold stresses.

Zhu JK.

Department of Plant Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721, USA. jkzhu@ag.arizona.edu

Forward genetics and biochemical approaches to studying plant responses to salt, water and cold stresses began to bear fruit recently. Analysis of salt overly sensitive (sos) Arabidopsis mutants revealed a novel calcium-regulated protein kinase pathway for response to the ionic aspect of salt stress. In-gel kinase assays identified several SOS-independent protein kinases that are either activated specifically by osmotic stress or by multiple abiotic and biotic stresses. Molecular analysis revealed a transcriptional cascade in cold-regulated gene expression.

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