Plants and animals developed multicellularity on separate evolutionary paths, leading to very different
cell communication methods. In animals, a key concept is the use of "second messengers"small
molecules like cAMP (cyclic AMP) that help transmit signals inside cells from the outside signals such as
hormones. In contrast, cAMP hasnt been considered important in plant signalinguntil now.
Our recent discovery shows that cAMP plays a role in how plants respond to auxina major growth
hormone. This unexpected finding suggests that cAMP could be a widely used but previously overlooked
messenger in plant cells. If true, this would revolutionize our understanding of how plants process
signals, offering new ways to regulate growth and stress responses.
To investigate this idea, we plan to:
1. Develop tools to detect and precisely control cAMP levels inside plant cells.
2. Use these tools to explore which plant signaling pathways rely on cAMP.
3. Identify the specific molecular targets of cAMP in plants.
4. Apply this knowledge to understand how cAMP influences jasmonate signaling, another key
plant hormone pathway.
Together, these efforts aim to confirm that cAMP acts as a genuine second messenger in plants. Well
also provide new tools that researchers and biotechnologists can use to study or even reprogram plant
responses to different signals, including environmental stresses such as heat or drought.
Although the approach is ambitious and challenging, our early results suggest a major advance on this
front is within reach. This could dramatically broaden our view of how plants function and how we might
engineer them for future needs.