Comprehensive Analysis of RNA Expression and Isoform Diversity Reveals Molecular Mechanisms in Plant Responses to Diverse Thermal Conditions.
- 1State Key Laboratory of Genetics and Development of Complex Phenotypes, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Biodiversity Sciences and Ecological Engineering and Institute of Biodiversity Sciences, Institute of Plant Biology, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200438 China.
- 2School of Tropical Agriculture and Forestry, Agriculture-Rural Affairs and Rural Revitalization, Hainan University, Haikou, 570228 China.
- 3School of Biological Engineering, Enshi Polytechnic, Enshi, 445800 China.
Abstract
Elevated temperatures, including warm ambient temperature (WAT) and high ambient temperature (HAT), profoundly influence plant growth and development. While WAT promotes thermomorphogenesis and stimulates growth, HAT induces stress responses that can inhibit growth. Using Arabidopsis thaliana, we uncovered both shared and distinct molecular mechanisms underlying plant responses to these temperature conditions. We demonstrated that both WAT and HAT activate genes associated with the DNA damage response (DDR), but they differ in timing and intensity. While WAT encourages progression into the S phase of the cell cycle and enhances cell division, HAT induces G2/M arrest, indicating cell cycle inhibition caused by DNA damage accumulation and impaired DDR proteins. Notably, alternative splicing (AS), particularly intron retention (IR), emerged as a pivotal regulatory layer under heat stress. Prolonged high temperatures uniquely enriched IR events in genes involved in DNA repair and chromatin organization. Integrated analyses of AS and transcriptional changes revealed coordinated regulation, with IR events dominating genes that exhibit simultaneous upregulation. These findings highlight AS as an essential regulatory mechanism in plant responses to heat stress. Conserved responses to elevated temperatures in tobacco and tomato further suggest the presence of shared adaptive pathways across plant species. Our results provide novel insights into plant adaptation to fluctuating temperatures and highlight opportunities for engineering heat-resilient crops to mitigate the impacts of climate change. The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1007/s43657-025-00254-5.
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BibTeX
@article{wang2026comprehensive,
title = {{Comprehensive Analysis of RNA Expression and Isoform Diversity Reveals Molecular Mechanisms in Plant Responses to Diverse Thermal Conditions.}},
author = {Jianzheng Wang and Zesen Lai and Zhenze Lei and Fang Chang},
journal = {Phenomics (Cham, Switzerland)},
year = {2026},
month = jun,
doi = {10.1007/s43657-025-00254-5},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42952941},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Comprehensive Analysis of RNA Expression and Isoform Diversity Reveals Molecular Mechanisms in Plant Responses to Diverse Thermal Conditions.
AU - Jianzheng Wang
AU - Zesen Lai
AU - Zhenze Lei
AU - Fang Chang
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/06/24
JO - Phenomics (Cham, Switzerland)
DO - 10.1007/s43657-025-00254-5
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42952941
AB - Elevated temperatures, including warm ambient temperature (WAT) and high ambient temperature (HAT), profoundly influence plant growth and development. While WAT promotes thermomorphogenesis and stimulates growth, HAT induces stress responses that can inhibit growth. Using Arabidopsis thaliana, we uncovered both shared and distinct molecular mechanisms underlying plant responses to these temperature conditions. We demonstrated that both WAT and HAT activate genes associated with the DNA damage response (DDR), but they differ in timing and intensity. While WAT encourages progression into the S phase of the cell cycle and enhances cell division, HAT induces G2/M arrest, indicating cell cycle inhibition caused by DNA damage accumulation and impaired DDR proteins. Notably, alternative splicing (AS), particularly intron retention (IR), emerged as a pivotal regulatory layer under heat stress. Prolonged high temperatures uniquely enriched IR events in genes involved in DNA repair and chromatin organization. Integrated analyses of AS and transcriptional changes revealed coordinated regulation, with IR events dominating genes that exhibit simultaneous upregulation. These findings highlight AS as an essential regulatory mechanism in plant responses to heat stress. Conserved responses to elevated temperatures in tobacco and tomato further suggest the presence of shared adaptive pathways across plant species. Our results provide novel insights into plant adaptation to fluctuating temperatures and highlight opportunities for engineering heat-resilient crops to mitigate the impacts of climate change. The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1007/s43657-025-00254-5.
SN - 2730-583X
SN - 2730-5848
ER -