Scientists have uncovered how plants use two distinct but interconnected forms of a fundamental signaling molecule, cAMP, to manage everything from routine cell maintenance to survival under extreme stress. The discovery could reshape efforts to develop more resilient crops in a warming world.
When a heat wave strikes or floodwaters rise, animals can flee. Plants cannot. Instead, they rely on molecular machinery refined over millions of years of evolution — and new research suggests that machinery is more sophisticated than scientists previously understood.
A study published May 8 in the journal Science Advances reveals that plants harness two chemically distinct forms of a well-known signaling molecule, cyclic adenosine monophosphate, or cAMP, assigning each a largely separate job while keeping the two pathways in close communication. The findings come from researchers at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) and collaborators in Germany, Saudi Arabia, the Czech Republic and the United States.
What Is cAMP and Why Does It Matter?
cAMP is a molecular messenger found across nearly all living things. In human and animal cells, one form — called 3′,5′-cAMP — is well-studied, playing key roles in hormone signaling, nerve communication, and regulating how cells burn energy. A structural twin, 2′,3′-cAMP, carries the same chemical formula but differs in how its phosphate group bonds to the adenosine molecule. In mammals, 2′,3′-cAMP is kept in check because too much of it can be toxic.
Plants also contain both forms, but until now, researchers had limited insight into what each version actually does in plant biology. The new study, led by Mingyue Li, an ISTA alum, and Jiří Friml, a professor at ISTA, begins to fill that gap using the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, commonly called mouse ear cress — a small flowering weed that scientists favor for its genetic tractability and fast life cycle.
A Surprising Imbalance — and a Division of Labor
One of the study’s most striking findings is a dramatic imbalance between the two molecules inside plant cells. Levels of 2′,3′-cAMP — the form considered secondary in animal systems — are more than 60 times higher in plants than levels of 3′,5′-cAMP, the dominant animal form. That ratio alone signals that plants have evolved a very different relationship with this molecule than animals have.
Using an array of molecular and cell biology techniques, the research team mapped out what each form of cAMP actually does. The 3′,5′-cAMP form appears to handle fine-tuned regulation of growth, nutrient sensing and routine cellular upkeep. The 2′,3′-cAMP form, by contrast, triggers far broader effects — activating specialized metabolic pathways and mounting wide-ranging stress responses when plants face adversity such as drought, extreme temperatures, or infection.
Crucially, the two pathways are not isolated from each other. The researchers documented crosstalk between them, meaning the systems can communicate and, when necessary, compensate if the other falters. That built-in redundancy likely explains part of how plants manage to survive such a wide variety of environmental pressures.
Why It Matters for Climate and Agriculture
For college students studying biology, environmental science or agriculture — or anyone tracking how science might address food security — the implications are significant. Global crop yields are already under pressure from increasingly erratic weather patterns driven by climate change. Understanding the molecular switches that govern how plants handle stress is a foundational step toward engineering crops that can better withstand heat, drought, and flooding.
The research also highlights a recurring lesson in biology: insights from animal models do not always translate cleanly to other kingdoms of life. Plants, animals and microbes share many ancient molecular tools, but evolution has repurposed those tools in ways that are often surprising. By treating plant biology on its own terms rather than as a proxy for mammalian systems, researchers can uncover mechanisms that would otherwise be overlooked.