Action potentials as multifunctional signals in plants: a unifying hypothesis to explain apparently disparate wound responses

Abstract

Abstract I suggest that action potentials, which occur in most, if not all, plants, play a major role in intercellular and intracellular communication. Long‐distance communication is achieved through the transmitted changes in membrane potential, whereas local signalling is achieved through changes in the subcellular localization of ions (K + , Cl − , and Ca 2+ ) and of water, and perhaps by membrane depolarization and current flow. These local changes in ion concentration can lead to modified activities of enzymes in the cell wall (e.g. pectinase), the plasma membrane (e.g. cellulose synthetase, callose synthetase), and the cytoplasm (e.g. protein kinase). In particular, the elevated concentration of cytoplasmic Ca 2+ is shown to have a major, yet complex, role, especially in the modulation of translation. I suggest further that, in addition to their role in wounding, action potentials may also be important signalling mechanisms for chilling injury, mechanical perturbation and invasion by pathogens, as well as for light and gravity.