A study conducted by an international research team from Belgium, the
Netherlands,United States, and the United Kingdom reveals the
fundamental molecular insights into the ways that plants respond to high
temperatures. The researchers have identified the protein kinase
MAP4K4/TOT3 as a light signaling-independent regulator of this process.

To identify these signaling mechanisms in flowering plants, Lam Dai Vu
and the team mapped modifications in specific proteins that occur when
the plants are exposed to warm temperatures. They identified the protein
kinase MAP4K4/TOT3 as a regulator of thermomorphogenesis in both dicots
and monocots, the two fundamental structural categories of plants. Their
research also indicates that this protein signaling pathway regulates
thermomorphogenesis independently from other pathways, including those
related to light sensing.

Climate warming has deep impacts on both plant growth and crop yield.
This study identified MAP4K4/TOT3 as a new key player in plant responses
to warm temperatures, and show that it also interacts with related
kinases that play multifaceted roles in thermomorphogenesis. The
researchers said the TOT3 complex has great potential for
knowledge-based breeding warm temperature-resilient crops that can
contribute to maintaining future food security in a warming climate.

VIB - VIB research reveals a new molecular driver of high-temperature
adaptations in plants
[vib.be]