Scientists Identify Plant Heat-Tolerance Gene
11 November 2008 Plant scientists at Michigan State University (MSU) have discovered the gene that controls how plants respond to high temperatures, reports MSU News. The gene, bZIP28, helps regulate heat stress response in Arabidopsis thaliana, a mustard-family plant used in genetic studies. The research is published in the Oct. 6 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
In previous research, the cell nucleus and the cytosol fluid inside cells have been shown to play a role in how plants respond to heat. The endoplasmic reticulum cell membrane is mainly responsible for packaging and storing proteins in the cell. However, says Robert Larkin, MSU assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology and corresponding author of the paper: “We also found that bZIP28 was responding to signals from the endoplasmic reticulum, which is the first time the ER has been shown to be involved with the response to heat. We’re finding that heat tolerance is a more complex process than was first thought.”
Plants with an inactive bZIP28 gene die as soon as temperatures reach a certain level. Research into understanding how the process works – which could allow plant breeders to create new varieties of crops that flourish in warmer, drier climates – will continue.
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