TT3.1: a journey to protect chloroplasts upon heat stress

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is a staple crop that feeds over half the world's population. High temperature stress is a great threaten to sustainable agriculture and leads to yield loss and impaired grain quality in major crops. Rice is sensitive to heat stress at almost all the growth stages and the molecular mechanisms underlying responses to heat stress in rice is emerging. Through quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping, a recent study conducted by Zhang et al. shows that one genetic locus Thermo-tolerance 3 (TT3) contains two genes that are required for thermotolerance in rice. The TT3.1-TT3.2 genetic module in rice links the plasma membrane to chloroplasts to protect chloroplasts from heat stress damage and increases grain yield under heat stress conditions. This breakthrough provides a promising strategy for future breeding of high temperature resilient crops.