Integration of UV-B and temperature signalling in plants

光和温度是调节植物发育的两个最重要的信号。热形态发生(对环境温度的非应激变化的发育适应)是植物生物学中一个迅速扩展的领域，直接应用于气候变化中的作物生产力、生态学和生物多样性管理。尽管红/蓝光感受器与高温信号通路之间的相互作用已被识别，但UV-B与高温信号通路的整合仍未得到很好的描述。在阳光下生长的植物中，叶温随着UV-B的吸收而增加。与田间的情况不同，大多数植物科学是在温室和生长柜中进行的，在这些条件下，植物暴露在很少或没有UV-B的条件下。因此，了解UV-B和高温信号是如何整合的对于我们理解自然环境中植物的发育是至关重要的。我们最近发表的工作发现了一个新的分子机制，通过UV-B被UVR8光感受器感知，抑制高温诱导的茎伸长。这为植物在明亮的阳光下提供了一个重要的刹车机制，防止茎的过度生长，从而可能导致倒伏和生物量的严重减少。拟议的计划将建立在这些发现的基础上，以获得对UV-B和温度信号串扰的更深入的分子理解。特别是，我们希望了解UV-B是如何调节转录因子PIF4的转录丰度和蛋白活性的。我们的结果将与现有的产业合作直接相关，旨在通过UV-B补充减少商业园艺中的茎伸长。

Light and temperature are two of the most important signals regulating plant development. Thermomorphogenesis (developmental adaptation to non-stressful changes in ambient temperature) is a rapidly expanding field in plant biology with direct applications to crop productivity, ecology and biodiversity management in a changing climate. Although interactions between red/blue photoreceptors and high temperature signalling pathways have been identified, the integration of UV-B and high temperature signalling remains poorly characterised. In sunlight-grown plants, leaf temperature increases concomitantly with UV-B absorption. In contrast to the situation in the field, the majority of plant science is carried out in glasshouses and growth cabinets, conditions in which plants are exposed to little or no UV-B. Understanding how UV-B and high temperature signals are integrated is therefore central to our understanding of plant development in natural environments.Our recently published work has identified a novel molecular mechanism through which UV-B, perceived by the UVR8 photoreceptor, inhibits high temperature-induced stem elongation. This provides plants with an important braking mechanism in bright sunlight, preventing excessive stem growth which could lead to lodging and critical reductions in biomass. The proposed programme will build on these findings to gain deeper molecular understanding of UV-B and temperature signal crosstalk. In particular, we wish to understand how UV-B regulates the transcript abundance and protein activity of the transcription factor, PIF4. Our results will have direct relevance to existing industrial collaborations aiming to reduce stem elongation in commercial horticulture, through UV-B supplementation.