Arabidopsis high temperature stress research

Abstract

The rise in global temperature and increasingly frequent heat waves may severely disturb plant growth and productivity. Throughout the life cycle of vascular plants, which may last even thousands of years, various aboveground structures are constructed due to the activity of the shoot apical meristem (SAM). A pool of dividing, undifferentiated stem cells is maintained within a SAM, which facilitates self-perpetuation of the meristem and provides cells for growth and organogenesis. Unsurprisingly, there has been a growing interest to study the impact of increased temperatures on the development and molecular response of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. Unfortunately, the experimental setups are highly variable and key aspects of plant development are regularly neglected. Thus, in this short review, we highlight the experimental variables and address SAM maintenance in the context of elevated temperature research.