Local traveling waves of cytosolic Ca ²⁺ elicited by defense signals or wounding are propagated by distinct mechanisms in Arabidopsis

Cytosolic calcium ion (Ca 2+ ) signatures with specific spatiotemporal patterns play crucial roles in plant responses to biotic and abiotic stresses. The perception of microbe- or damage-associated molecular patterns (MAMPs or DAMPs, respectively) initiates cytosolic Ca 2+ fluxes that are essential for the induction and spread of pattern-triggered immunity, the first line of plant defense against pathogens, at the cellular, organ, and systemic levels. Here, we quantitatively assessed Ca 2+ signatures at the single-cell level, as well as the local traveling Ca 2+ waves induced by uniform MAMP or DAMP treatment of Arabidopsis thaliana cotyledons. MAMPs and DAMPs induced distinct local spatiotemporal Ca 2+ responses in epidermal pavement cells, with traveling waves of Ca 2+ consistently initiated from a randomly distributed subset of cells and spreading in an approximately radial pattern. These local traveling waves propagated at a slow but constant speed of ~1 micrometer per second and spread to a limited number of neighboring cells. In contrast, wound-induced traveling waves of Ca 2+ , which are propagated by the diffusion of molecules that activate Ca 2+ channels, displayed a diffusion-like decay pattern that moved rapidly away from the wounded cell but with diminishing speed over time and distance. Mathematical modeling supported a Ca 2+ -induced Ca 2+ release mechanism that recapitulated the constant wave speed induced by MAMPs. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of plant defense–related Ca 2+ signaling mechanisms, as well as how defense responses are spatially restricted in tissues.