Decoding the genetic memory of plants: investigating how past events shape their responses to stressful situations

Abstract

To address the threat posed to agriculture due to the rise in global temperatures and other environmental stressors, we used Arabidopsis thaliana as a model organism to study the consequences of combined and consecutive exposure to varying temperatures and light intensities along fixed time intervals. Gene expression patterns of Heat shock protein 1, Heat shock factor A1, and Early-light-induced proteins 1 and 2 were studied to gain deeper insights into the transcriptomic response to stress exposure. Under the combined treatment regimen, high heat and high light inflicted the most damage on root phenotype and chlorophyll content, demonstrating the clear additive effect of heat and light stress. In contrast, consecutive application of heat followed by high light had an additive effect whereas high light followed by heat was similar to heat stress under medium light conditions. HsfA1 was also identified as a reliable biomarker for temperature stress, while, the interaction between high heat and light seems to have an antagonistic effect on the expression of ELIP1 and ELIP2. The results suggest that there are specific regulatory mechanisms governing the specific gene modules and physiological responses, which are influenced by the order in which the stresses are applied.