Fine-control of growth and thermotolerance in plant response to heat stress

Abstract

Global warming impacts plant growth and development, which in turn threatens food security. It has become clear that plants how to response warm-temperature (such as thermomorphogenesis) and high-temperature stress. At the molecular level, many small molecules play crucial roles in balancing growth and defense, achieving high and stable yields by fine-tuning in response to external stimuli. Therefore, it is essential to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying how plants grow in response to heat stress and how they can adjust their biological processes to survive heat stress conditions. In this review, we summarized the heat-responsive genetic networks in plants and crop plants based on recent studies. Focus on how plants sense the elevated temperatures and initiate cellular and metabolic responses that enable them to adapt to the adverse growing conditions. We also describe the trade-off between plant growth and responses to heat stress. Specifically, we address the regulatory network of plant response to the heat stress, which will facilitate the discovery of novel thermotolerant genes and be helpful to open new opportunities for agricultural applications.