Heat Stress Responses and Thermotolerance

Abstract

The rising ambient temperature by plant cells is crucial for the timely activation of various molecular defences before the appearance of heat damage. The heat-threshold level varies considerably at different developmental stages. With a view to survive under heat stress, mechanisms of regulation at the molecular level enable plants to prosper. Traditional breeding contributed for improving heat tolerance meagrely. The genetic transformation approach needs to be accelerated that can mitigate harmful effects by developing improved thermotolerance of crop plants. In this background, a thorough understanding of physiological responses of plants to high temperature, mechanisms of heat tolerance and possible strategies is vital. Temperature changes are sensed through cellular responses due to signal transduction into the cell. A key ingredient for plants temperature sensing ability is a specialized histone protein, dubbed H2A.Z that wraps DNA into a more tightly packed structure. Further, metabolic reactions and internal conductance to CO 2 decrease Rubisco activation, inhibition of Rubisco activase and subsequently slowing down net photosynthesis (Pn). Importance of internal conductance to CO 2 , heat inducible transcription factor for heat shock response (HSR) involve different HSR genes. The mechanisms, which are regulated at the molecular level, facilitate plants to thrive under heat stress. Exogenous applications of protectants such as osmoprotectants, phytohormones, signaling molecules, trace elements etc. have shown beneficial effects on plants growing under high temperature, due to the growth promoting and antioxidant activities of these compounds. There is acute necessity of crop biotechnology research for evolving genetically modified (GM) crops for a high CO 2 world at this juncture. So, attaining thermotolerance is a lively process to escape damages caused by heat stress.