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Updated: Feb 1, 2026

Single-Cell Calcium Imaging for Studying the Activation of Calcium Ion Channels
Published on: December 13, 2024
Structure of the hyperosmolality-gated calcium-permeable channel OSCA1.2
Xin Liu1, Jiawei Wang2, Linfeng Sun3,4
1Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, 230027, Hefei, China.
Abstract:
In plants, hyperosmolality stimuli triggers opening of the osmosensitive channels, leading to a rapid downstream signaling cascade initiated by cytosolic calcium concentration elevation. Members of the OSCA family in Arabidopsis thaliana, identified as the hyperosmolality-gated calcium-permeable channels, have been suggested to play a key role during the initial phase of hyperosmotic stress response. Here, we report the atomic structure of Arabidopsis OSCA1.2 determined by single-particle cryo-electron microscopy. It contains 11 transmembrane helices and forms a homodimer. It is in an inactivated state, and the pore-lining residues are clearly identified. Its cytosolic domain contains a RNA recognition motif and two unique long helices. The linker between these two helices forms an anchor in the lipid bilayer and may be essential to osmosensing. The structure of AtOSCA1.2 serves as a platform for the study of the mechanism underlying osmotic stress responses and mechanosensing.
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