Priming thermotolerance: unlocking heat resilience for climate-smart crops

Area of Science:

• Agricultural Science
• Plant Physiology
• Climate Change Adaptation

Background:

• Rising global temperatures and heat waves significantly threaten crop productivity.
• Limited inherent thermotolerance in crops leads to substantial yield losses, exacerbated by climate change.
• Understanding plant responses to heat stress is crucial for agricultural sustainability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review how thermopriming enhances plant resilience to future heat stress (HS) events.
• To summarize the mechanisms of heat stress memory (thermomemory) in plants.
• To discuss strategies for extending crop thermotolerance beyond genetic limits.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of thermopriming strategies and mechanisms.
• Analysis of recent advances in priming agents (chemical, microbial, physiological).
• Examination of integrating priming with genetic improvement techniques (breeding, genome editing).

Main Results:

• Thermopriming prepares plants for subsequent HS events by inducing thermotolerance.
• Thermomemory mechanisms vary across plant tissues and organs.
• Priming agents and strategies can effectively extend a plant's capacity to withstand heat.

Conclusions:

• Integrating thermopriming with genetic improvements provides a comprehensive approach to climate-resilient crop development.
• This integrated strategy is vital for mitigating climate change impacts on agriculture.
• Developing climate-resilient crops is essential for ensuring global food security.