Plant signaling gets complex

Last night's session (February 12) on hormones networks at the joint Keystone meeting on plant signaling and immunity in Keystone, Co, began with Charlie Chaplin. Specifically, the audience was treated to a video clip of the scene in Modern Times where Chaplin, a worker on a factory assembly line, becomes curious about the gears that drive the machinery, and to the horror of other workers, dives onto the assembly line and down the chute to explore. It was a clear metaphor for what's going on in

Written byAlla Katsnelson
| 2 min read

Register for free to listen to this article
Listen with Speechify
0:00
2:00
Share
Last night's session (February 12) on hormones networks at the joint Keystone meeting on plant signaling and immunity in Keystone, Co, began with Charlie Chaplin. Specifically, the audience was treated to a video clip of the scene in Modern Times where Chaplin, a worker on a factory assembly line, becomes curious about the gears that drive the machinery, and to the horror of other workers, dives onto the assembly line and down the chute to explore. It was a clear metaphor for what's going on in the field. Over the past decade, as researchers first began identifying receptors of key plant signaling molecules such as linkurl:auxins,;http://www.the-scientist.com/article/display/21103/ gibberellins, and linkurl:brassinosteroids,;http://www.the-scientist.com/news/display/53293/ they've taken a fairly linear view of the pathways involved, the session's organizer, linkurl:Jennifer Nemhauser;http://protist.biology.washington.edu/nemhauser/people.htm of the University of Washington, explained. But increasingly, the level of complexity in these pathways, and the crosstalk between them, is becoming clear. I caught up with linkurl:Joanne Chory;http://www.salk.edu/faculty/faculty_details.php?id=12 of the Salk Institute, one of the organizers of the hormones and signaling component of the meeting, who highlighted one of the key differences between plant and animal signaling. While mammalian signaling systems can be thought of as "top-down," plants are "bottom-up," because many of the molecules work in parallel, impacting the same processes. Take auxins, for example: The plant has two ways of synthesizing the main endogenous auxin, indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) from tryptophan, and neither can compensate for the other. "So that means there are multiple pools of auxins acting independently," she said. Unlike like G-protein coupled receptors in mammals, which are associated with specific signaling molecules, unraveling a system in which most players wear several hats poses a challenge. (Which may have been what prompted another speaker yesterday to start his talk with the assertion that "auxin signaling is a mess.") Teasing out the complexity is going to require new approaches, Chory said. Identifying signaling molecules from mutant phenotypes has taken the field a long way, but many phenotypes are likely to be lethal, she said, so it's time to move beyond genetics, and towards better biochemistry and cell biology techniques to directly probe signaling interactions. "We really need to get hardcore about mechanisms."
Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of

The Scientist Logo
Receive full access to more than 35 years of archives, as well as TS Digest, digital editions of The Scientist, feature stories, and much more!
Already a member? Login Here

Meet the Author

Share
Image of small blue creatures called Nergals. Some have hearts above their heads, which signify friendship. There is one Nergal who is sneezing and losing health, which is denoted by minus one signs floating around it.
June 2025, Issue 1

Nergal Networks: Where Friendship Meets Infection

A citizen science game explores how social choices and networks can influence how an illness moves through a population.

View this Issue
Explore synthetic DNA’s many applications in cancer research

Weaving the Fabric of Cancer Research with Synthetic DNA

Twist Bio 
Illustrated plasmids in bright fluorescent colors

Enhancing Elution of Plasmid DNA

cytiva logo
An illustration of green lentiviral particles.

Maximizing Lentivirus Recovery

cytiva logo
Explore new strategies for improving plasmid DNA manufacturing workflows.

Overcoming Obstacles in Plasmid DNA Manufacturing

cytiva logo

Products

The Scientist Placeholder Image

Waters Enhances Alliance iS HPLC System Software, Setting a New Standard for End-to-End Traceability and Data Integrity 

The Scientist Placeholder Image

Agilent Unveils the Next Generation in LC-Mass Detection: The InfinityLab Pro iQ Series

agilent-logo

Agilent Announces the Enhanced 8850 Gas Chromatograph

parse-biosciences-logo

Pioneering Cancer Plasticity Atlas will help Predict Response to Cancer Therapies