Cellular Stress Responses in Plants Under Climate-Induced Heat Stress  

Presenter: Sophia Natalia Landrau

Faculty Sponsor: Reena Randhir

School: Springfield Technical Community College

Research Area: Biology

Session: Poster Session 2, 11:30 AM - 12:15 PM, Auditorium, A20

ABSTRACT

As the Earth's atmosphere warms, agricultural crops are increasingly susceptible since the temperatures are above their ecologically adapted range. Cells must respond to these climatic changes rapidly in order to survive. On the cellular level, plants respond to heat waves by altered gene expression, protein functions and metabolism. This might preserve the plant but often affects its vigor, growth and reproduction. This research poster presents a systematic literature review conducted using ScienceDirect, based on the analysis of studies investigating induced heat stress in plants. Of the 10,106 genes identified during RNA sequencing in turmeric, 41.8% were regulated differently to a significant degree under heat stress. Of these genes, 54.6% were downregulated when exposed to high temperatures. Many of the downregulated genes were part of the light-harvesting processes hence associated with reduced photosynthetic efficiency. Other studies indicate that cells change their RNA splicing mechanisms under heat stress indicating changes in post-transcriptional regulation. In rapeseed flowers, heat stress caused alterations in intracellular signal transduction pathways. Glycolysis, an important part of cellular respiration was significantly disrupted due to exposure to high heat confirming impaired cellular energy metabolism. Increases in temperature also induce dysfunction in regulating cell hormonal systems and fertility, mainly in the reproductive cells of plants. Due to an increase in temperature, plants which do not exhibit cellular adaptation may have reduced reproduction. Future research should focus on determining which cellular stress responses promote long-term heat tolerance without compromising plant growth and reproductive success in order to improve crop yields.

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