[Seminar] Temperature sensing in plants

Title: Temperature sensing in plants          

Speaker: Philip A. Wigge

Affiliation:  Sainsbury Laboratory, Cambridge University

Host: Célia Miguel

Abstract:

Temperature is a major environmental variable affecting plant survival, and plants have evolved a set of pathways to sense and integrate temperature signals into development and stress pathways. Our lab is interested in understanding how temperature signals are perceived (the sensors) as well as how this information is integrated to make decisions.

We have used a combination of genetic screens, natural variation studies and a candidate gene approach to identify signalling components necessary for temperature perception and investigate possible thermosensory mechanisms.  We have identified a strong diurnal pattern in the responsiveness of temperature response pathways, and this is useful in dissecting the separate cascades. Major developmental and growth responses are primarily controlled by a night-time pathway that relies on thermal information relayed by the phytochrome thermosensors as well as the circadian clock. A separate pathway activates the heat stress response pathway during the day, and we show this is gated by a chloroplast derived retrograde signal. I shall outline our main progress in this area, and discuss likely temperature sensing mechanisms and their role in the plant cell.