The authors used a bottom‑up thermodynamic modelling framework to investigate how plants decode calcium signals, starting from Ca2+ binding to EF‑hand proteins and extending to higher‑order decoding modules. They identified six universal Ca2+-decoding modules that can explain variations in calcium sensitivity among kinases and provide a theoretical basis for interpreting calcium signal amplitude and frequency in plant cells.

The study used Arabidopsis thaliana mutants with low (vtc2, vtc4) and high (vtc2/OE-VTC2) ascorbate levels to examine how ascorbate concentration affects gene expression and cellular homeostasis. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that altered ascorbate levels modulate defense and stress pathways, and that TAA1/TAR2‑mediated auxin biosynthesis is required for coping with elevated ascorbate in a light‑dependent manner.

The study reveals that Arabidopsis actin depolymerization factors (ADF2/3/4) have a nuclear moonlighting role, directly interacting with WRKY transcription factors to regulate immune‑related gene expression. Nuclear, rather than cytosolic, ADFs are essential for defense against both virulent and avirulent Pseudomonas syringae, highlighting a non‑canonical mechanism linking actin dynamics to transcriptional control in plant immunity.