[SEMINAR] Stress to stress burst: Mechanisms to cope heat stress in plants

Title: Stress to stress burst: Mechanisms to cope heat stress in plants

Speaker: Prof.  Annapurna Devi Allu

From: Department of Biology, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Tirupati, Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, India

Abstract: In response to heat stress, plants evoke a range of adaptive mechanisms, such as the induction of heat shock proteins, antioxidant systems, and osmoprotectants. However, repeated stress responses in biological systems come with a potential energy trade-off, impacting the overall energy budget of the organism. Our research explores the concept of stress memory-based priming in plants, where exposure to mild or non-lethal stress events equips plants to better confront subsequent, more severe stressors. We find that seedlings primed with mild heat stress exhibit enhanced tolerance to subsequent intense heat stress. This increased resilience can be attributed to the establishment of efficient cellular homeostasis and a strategic balance between growth and defense mechanisms. We unravel how priming facilitates the rewiring of transcriptional regulatory networks to orchestrate a more organized stress response. We identified epigenetic regulators that act as negative regulators of acquired thermotolerance. We posit that employing priming (stress) could avoid the damaging effects of intense heat stress (stress burst), in the face of changing environmental conditions and therefore aids in sustainable agricultural practices aimed at ensuring food security.