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 examined how sulfur nutrition influences grassland responses to various heatwave scenarios using monocultures and species mixtures under contrasting sulfur levels. Results showed that adequate sulfur improved shoot growth and water-use efficiency during severe heatwaves, whereas sulfur limitation enhanced root-to-shoot ratio, water-use efficiency, and shoot growth under recurrent mild‑severe heat events. The findings suggest that sulfur limitation may indirectly increase tolerance to repeated heat stress.

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.