South Korean researchers have discovered that some plants can adapt internal programming by flicking a molecular ‘switch’ that helps them survive in less predictable conditions.
The team from Chonnam National University looked at how cold temperatures change the way different proteins in plants interact.
They found that auxin repressors broke down when exposed to cold temperatures, leaving a pathway open for different proteins to activate a gene which helps the plant grow even during low temperature conditions.
The paper also showed that cold weather activates a hormone called cytokinin that promotes cell division and helps adjust root growth.
“Cold stress doesn’t simply slow plant growth – it actively rewires hormone signaling to adapt root development,” said professor Jungmook Kim who led the study published in the Journal of Integrative Plant Biology.
“Plants survive because they integrate external stress with internal developmental programs. We have identified one of the key switches enabling that integration.”
The authors note that more resilient varieties demonstrate improved early-season growth and increased nutrient uptake efficiency. They can also often be cultivated more sustainability as they require less fertilizer.
90 percent of the world’s food energy intake (excluding meat) come from just 15 different plant crops. Many of these crops are vulnerable to climate change, including the big three: corn, wheat, and rice.
Recent examples of unseasonably cold weather devastating crop harvests include grains and vegetables in southern Brazil where June temperatures dropped up to 20°C lower than seasonal averages and sharp frosts in Turkey that wiped out up to 80% of regional citrus fruit crops.
Discoveries like this molecular ‘switch’ mechanism are therefore crucial in aiding the development of more resilient crop variations that can keep food supply chains stable in more difficult conditions.
