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Redefining thermosensing plants: New model could enable climate-tailored crops for food security

An advance by Monash University scientists could transform agriculture with designer crops suited to the climate of individual regions.

In a comprehensive review of plant biology research, in Science, an international team of researchers has redefined previously held theories about how plants sense and respond to temperature and developed a new model for thermosensing plants.

They found that plants sense and respond to temperature through decentralized genetic networks of proteins and biological processes, challenging the long-standing theory that plants, like humans, rely on a single internal 'thermometer' to sense temperature.

Lead researcher Professor Sureshkumar Balasubramanian, from Monash School of Biological Sciences, said while efforts to address climate change remain critical, this discovery could transform our approach to addressing critical food insecurity in coming decades, as we grapple with the harmful consequences of climate change.

"Understanding how plants naturally integrate temperature into their growth and defense systems opens the door to precision breeding and AI-assisted approaches to enhance crop resilience," Professor Balasubramanian said.

"Effectively, this means we can grow designer crops that are tailored to the local climate of a particular region.

"This is critically important to ensuring food security as we see phenomena like floods and drought increasingly impacting agriculture in areas where they were not previously a regular occurrence."

The dispersed sensing model presented here opens up a multitude of opportunities for making designer crops a reality on Australian farms, providing hope for farmers who grapple with increasing climate extremes.

Co-author Dr. Sridevi Sureshkumar, from Monash School of Biological Sciences, said the theoretical designer crops, which are now possible as a result of the research, will be a league above modified crops already in use around the world.

"Now that we have been able to identify exactly which elements within the plants are temperature-responsive, we can genetically manipulate them with greater accuracy," Dr. Sureshkumar said.

"We can determine the specific combinations of manipulations that can produce bespoke solutions.

"Think of it like personalized medicine but for plants; this will revolutionize the way we think about agriculture moving forward."