Forward Genetic Screen Using Transgenic Calcium Reporter Aequorin to Identify Novel Targets in Calcium Signaling

Forward genetic screens have been important tools in the unbiased identification of genetic components involved in several biological pathways. The basis of the screen is to generate a mutant population that can be screened with a phenotype of interest. EMS (ethyl methane sulfonate) is a commonly used alkylating agent for inducing random mutation in a classical forward genetic screen to identify multiple genes involved in any given process. Cytosolic calcium (Ca²⁺) elevation is a key early signaling pathway that is activated upon stress perception. However the identity of receptors, channels, pumps and transporters of Ca²⁺ is still elusive in many study systems. Aequorin is a cellular calcium reporter protein isolated from Aequorea victoria and stably expressed in Arabidopsis. Exploiting this, we designed a forward genetic screen in which we EMS-mutagenized the aequorin transgenic. The seeds from the mutant plants were collected (M₁) and screening for the phenotype of interest was carried out in the segregating (M₂) population. Using a 96-well high-throughput Ca²⁺ measurement protocol, several novel mutants can be identified that have a varying calcium response and are measured in real time. The mutants with the phenotype of interest are rescued and propagated till a homozygous mutant plant population is obtained. This protocol provides a method for forward genetic screens in Ca²⁺ reporter background and identify novel Ca²⁺ regulated targets.