Author's School

Arts & Sciences

Author's Department

Biology

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

11-18-2016

Originally Published In

Science. 2016 Nov 18;354(6314):897-900.

Abstract

Ambient temperature regulates many aspects of plant growth and development, but its sensors are unknown. Here, we demonstrate that the phytochrome B (phyB) photoreceptor participates in temperature perception through its temperature-dependent reversion from the active Pfr state to the inactive Pr state. Increased rates of thermal reversion upon exposing Arabidopsis seedlings to warm environments reduce both the abundance of the biologically active Pfr-Pfr dimer pool of phyB and the size of the associated nuclear bodies, even in daylight. Mathematical analysis of stem growth for seedlings expressing wild-type phyB or thermally stable variants under various combinations of light and temperature revealed that phyB is physiologically responsive to both signals. We therefore propose that in addition to its photoreceptor functions, phyB is a temperature sensor in plants.

Comments

This is the author’s version of the work. It is posted here by permission of the AAAS for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Science on Vol 354, Issue 6314 18 November 2016, DOI:10.1126/science.aaf565.

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