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Molecular-level heat adaptation mechanism discovered in plants

While humans can escape the heat by seeking shade or shedding layers, plants remain rooted in place. So how do they survive extreme heat? It's a question many have wondered—and now, science has an answer.

A research team led by Dr. Hye Sun Cho at the Plant Systems Engineering Research Center of the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB) has uncovered, for the first time at the molecular level, the mechanism by which plants adapt and survive under heat stress. The breakthrough is expected to greatly advance the development of climate-resilient crop varieties and next-generation gene regulation technologies.

All living organisms store genetic information in DNA, which is transcribed into RNA. However, this RNA contains both essential and non-essential segments. To produce functional proteins, the unnecessary parts must be precisely removed in a process known as RNA splicing.

This splicing process is carried out by a molecular machine called the spliceosome—a complex that acts like a tailor, trimming RNA with precision so that plants can produce the right proteins at the right time.

The KRIBB research team has now identified a key regulatory protein in this process, called PP2A B′η (B-prime-eta). They found that under heat stress, this protein activates the spliceosome, enabling plants to edit RNA appropriately and rapidly synthesize proteins necessary for heat tolerance. This discovery marks the first time such a heat-responsive splicing mechanism has been revealed in plants.

To further validate its role, the researchers manipulated the expression of PP2A B′η in plants. Plants lacking this protein failed to germinate or survive under high temperatures, while those overexpressing it thrived and demonstrated higher survival rates.

Additionally, the study uncovered the molecular basis behind this phenomenon: without PP2A B′η, numerous genes fail to undergo proper RNA splicing, leading to the breakdown of essential protein production and heightened vulnerability to heat stress.

"This discovery is especially timely," said Dr. Hye Sun Cho, lead author of the study. "As climate change intensifies, the demand for heat-tolerant crops will only grow. Our findings on PP2A B′η open up new avenues for developing climate-adaptive crop varieties and precision gene regulation strategies."

The study was online on May 13, 2025, in The Plant Cell.