Constitutive elevation of cAMP in Arabidopsis thaliana enhances plant growth, development, and productivity.

Constitutive elevation of cAMP in Arabidopsis thaliana increases plant height by 13-14%, seed weight by 12-17%, and seed yield by 36-41%, enhancing growth and productivity.

• Why it matters: Understanding cAMP's systemic functions in plants is limited due to its transient signalling nature, hindering insights into its role in overall plant physiology and productivity.
• What they did: Researchers engineered Arabidopsis thaliana to constitutively express adenylate cyclase, resulting in a 1.3- to 1.8-fold increase in endogenous cAMP levels and enabling the study of its effects on growth and stress responses.
• The result: Elevated cAMP promoted faster growth, improved photosynthesis, and increased productivity but also heightened susceptibility to salinity, pathogens, and ethylene, emphasizing the need for precise regulation of cAMP signalling.