How plants evolved a molecular switch to cope with heat

As climate change drives more frequent and intense heat waves, plants face growing challenges to survive and remain productive. Researchers at VIB, Ghent University, KU Leuven, and their international collaborators have now uncovered an evolutionary innovation that helps plants cope with high temperatures. Published in Nature Plants, the study uncovers a molecular mechanism that helps plants stay cool under heat stress and could help researchers identify new ways to strengthen crop resilience.

Science Communication

Ive and David

 #ArtGenetics

Our fruits, vegetables, and cereal crops stem from a wild ancestor and have undergone major changes through millennia of domestication and selection. There are various ways to reveal plant diversity over time, and one of these is through the combination of art history and genetics (also known as #ArtGenetics).

Technological Platforms - How we study it

Spectrum

Advanced Proteomics and Functional Biology

 

Functional Phosphoproteomics

Protein phosphorylation is one of the most important mechanisms controlling cellular signaling. We use state-of-the-art phosphoproteomics to identify dynamic phosphorylation events and reconstruct signaling networks that regulate plant growth and environmental responses. This approach allows us to move from phenotype to mechanism at systems scale.

 

Biological Questions - What we study

Illustration of Biological Questions

Plant Growth and Physiology and Environmental Adaptation

Almost every organism is exposed to variation in temperature, on a daily and on a seasonal basis. This is especially true for plants that, as sessile organisms, need to continuously alter their growth, development, and physiology in response to temperature variation. To sense and respond to temperature changes, several molecular sensors and downstream signalling and response networks have evolved.

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