Physiological Responses and Tolerance Mechanisms of Plants to Heat Stress

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Response to Abiotic Stress and Climate Change".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 728

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Materials and Life Sciences, Faculty of Science and Technology, Sophia University, Chiyoda, Tokyo 102-8554, Japan
Interests: heat stress; stress combinations; reactive oxygen species (ROS) regulatory systems; long-distance signaling; signaling networks
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Extreme temperatures are well known to have detrimental effects on crop yield worldwide. Due to global warming, the damage caused by heat stress has become a particularly serious problem in agriculture. Despite extensive studies focusing on the mechanisms underlying plant responses to heat stress, these agricultural challenges remain unresolved.

Recently, studies have focused on the diverse responses of plants to heat stress. Differences in heat response mechanisms have been uncovered based on the duration and intensity of stress, types of tissues and organs, and growth stages. Additionally, many studies have explored the ability of plants to memorize information about heat stress to prepare for future occurrences. Furthermore, heat stress can activate long-distance signaling that can be transferred from one part of the plant to other distal tissues. These various types of heat stress responses are regulated by a complex integration of physiological and molecular pathways involving numerous genes, proteins, and metabolites.

This Special Issue will explore the physiological and molecular bases of the complex and flexible modes of plant responses to heat stress. We will address signaling pathways and their integration underlying diverse heat stress responses. Additionally, research aimed at improving the heat tolerance of crops in agricultural fields is also welcome.

Dr. Nobuhiro Suzuki
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • heat stress
  • signaling
  • physiological mechanisms
  • molecular mechanisms
  • network
  • complexity
  • specificity
  • agriculture

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

23 pages, 2593 KiB  
Article
Thermal Decoupling May Promote Cooling and Avoid Heat Stress in Alpine Plants
by Loreto V. Morales, Angela Sierra-Almeida, Catalina Sandoval-Urzúa and Mary T. K. Arroyo
Plants 2025, 14(13), 2023; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14132023 - 2 Jul 2025
Viewed by 319
Abstract
In alpine ecosystems, where low temperatures predominate, prostrate growth forms play a crucial role in thermal resistance by enabling thermal decoupling from ambient conditions, thereby creating a warmer microclimate. However, this strategy may be maladaptive during frequent heatwaves driven by climate change. This [...] Read more.
In alpine ecosystems, where low temperatures predominate, prostrate growth forms play a crucial role in thermal resistance by enabling thermal decoupling from ambient conditions, thereby creating a warmer microclimate. However, this strategy may be maladaptive during frequent heatwaves driven by climate change. This study combined microclimatic and plant characterization, infrared thermal imaging, and leaf photoinactivation to evaluate how thermal decoupling (TD) affects heat resistance (LT50) in six alpine species from the Nevados de Chillán volcano complex in the Andes of south-central Chile. Results showed that plants’ temperatures increased with solar radiation, air, and soil temperatures, but decreased with increasing humidity. Most species exhibited negative TD, remaining 6.7 K cooler than the air temperature, with variation across species, time of day, and growth form; shorter, rounded plants showed stronger negative TD. Notably, despite negative TD, all species exhibited high heat resistance (Mean LT50 = 46 °C), with LT50 positively correlated with TD in shrubs. These findings highlight the intricate relationships between thermal decoupling, environmental factors, and plant traits in shaping heat resistance. This study provides insights into how alpine plants may respond to the increasing heat stress associated with climate change, emphasizing the adaptive significance of thermal decoupling in these environments. Full article
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