Whole-Plant Physiology: Synergistic Emergence Rather Than Modularity

Root-to-shoot signalling: integration of diverse molecules, pathways and functions

Plant adaptive potential is critically dependent upon efficient communication and co-ordination of resource allocation and signalling between above- and below-ground plant parts. Plant roots act as gatekeepers that sense and encode information about soil physical, chemical and biological factors, converting them into a sophisticated network of signals propagated both within the root itself, and also between the root and shoot, to optimise plant performance for a specific set of conditions. In return, plant roots receive and decode reciprocal information coming from the shoot. The communication modes are highly diverse and include a broad range of physical (electric and hydraulic signals, propagating Ca2+ and ROS waves), chemical (assimilates, hormones, peptides and nutrients), and molecular (proteins and RNA) signals. Further, different signalling systems operate at very different timescales. It remains unclear whether some of these signalling systems operate in a priming mode(s), whereas others deliver more specific information about the nature of the signal, or whether they carry the same 'weight'. This review summarises the current knowledge of the above signalling mechanisms, and reveals their hierarchy, and highlights the importance of integration of these signalling components, to enable optimal plant functioning in a dynamic environment.

Plant memory: a tentative model

All memory functions have molecular bases, namely in signal reception and transduction, and in storage and recall of information. Thus, at all levels of organisation living organisms have some kind of memory. In plants one may distinguish two types. There are linear pathways from reception of signals and propagation of effectors to a type of memory that may be described by terms such as learning, habituation or priming. There is a storage and recall memory based on a complex network of elements with a high degree of integration and feedback. The most important elements envisaged are calcium waves, epigenetic modifications of DNA and histones, and regulation of timing via a biological clock. Experiments are described that document the occurrence of the two sorts of memory and which show how they can be distinguished. A schematic model of plant memory is derived as emergent from integration of the various modules. Possessing the two forms of memory supports the fitness of plants in response to environmental stimuli and stress.