Mechanisms of Plant Response to Heat Stress: Recent Insights

This chapter provides an in-depth exploration of the impact of heat stress on plant responses and tolerance. It includes the critical role of small heat shock proteins (sHSPs) in protecting cellular machinery, highlighting their function as molecular chaperones during heat stress. This chapter investigates heat shock signaling in plants, from plasma membrane sensing to the transcription of HSPs, shedding light on the cellular and metabolic adjustments essential for plant survival under heat stress conditions. These mechanisms are particularly crucial for maintaining crop productivity, making this chapter relevant in the context of climate change and global food security challenges. Several aspects of the heat stress response are covered, including the involvement of heat shock transcription factors (HSFs) and cellular responses at the proteome and metabolome levels. Understanding these molecular mechanisms is essential for enhancing heat tolerance in plants and safeguarding agricultural productivity in the face of increasing temperatures. The research discussed in this chapter offers valuable insights into the dynamic landscape of plant responses to heat stress and the potential for breeding thermotolerant crop varieties. It also underscores the importance of HSPs and HSFs in plant growth, reproduction, and productivity, thereby contributing to an understanding of heat stress tolerance in crop plants.