Tag: Abiotic Stress

How a cell detects a drop in water potential, the physical signal of drought or salinity, has been a long-standing puzzle. Wang et al. identified SAM8, an Arabidopsis protein that reversibly condenses into nuclear droplets when cellular water becomes scarce. When water is freely available, a negatively…

Potato productivity is highly vulnerable to drought and salinity, yet the signaling mechanisms underlying stress adaptation remain incompletely understood. A recent study by Zhu et al. used a genome-wide analysis of the mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase (MAPKKK) family in potato and identified…

The June 12 issue of Science has a focus on plants and heat that includes several excellent review and research articles. In a very interesting review, Singh Yadav et al. discuss the complex and fascinating question of how plants sense temperature, emphasizing both the biophysical nature of temperature…

They May 29 issue of Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. B. similarly addresses the pressing questions of how crop plants will continue to feed the world in spite of the rapidly changing climate. This issue covers some of the same topics as the Science special issue on heat stress but goes beyond heat to cover drought…

Environmental stimuli, such as drought and salinity, alter cellular conditions including apoplastic pH (pHApo) in plants. These stimuli often lead to an elevation in pHApo which is closely associated with cell functions and plant growth. However, the mechanism behind is largely unexplored. A recent study…

Memory—a mysterious cognitive process that retains information over time and shapes future interpretations and actions—is not exclusive to animals. In plants, a similar phenomenon occurs where past exposure to environmental stressors is “memorized,” enabling plants to respond more effectively…

Osmosis, driving water uptake and transport, is crucial for plants. It supports nutrient uptake, turgidity, and overall plant health. In hyperosmotic conditions, caused by drought, salinity, and cold stress, water loss triggers osmotic responses. A key question is: what sensors detect osmotic changes?…

Zhihe Cai (Synthetic and Functional Biomolecules Center, Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Key Laboratory of Bioorganic Chemistry and Molecular Engineering of Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China) https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koae149 Background:…