A high-throughput method for screening Arabidopsis mutants with disordered abiotic stress-induced calcium signal

It is established that different stresses cause signal-specific changes in cellular Ca(2+) level, which function as messengers in modulating diverse physiological processes. These calcium signals are important for stress adaptation. Though numbers of downstream components of calcium signal cascades have been identified, upstream events in calcium signal remain elusive, specifically components required for calcium signal generation due to the lack of high-throughput genetic assay. Here, we report the development of an easy and efficient method in a forward genetic screen for Ca(2+) signals-deficient mutants in Arabidopsis thaliana. Using this method, 121 mutants with disordered NaCl- and H(2)O(2)-induced Ca(2+) signals are isolated.