A modular prion-like domain code for the activation of the heat shock factors in plants

• Applicant: Professor Philip Anthony Wigge, Ph.D.
• Subject Area: Plant Biochemistry and Biophysics ; General Genetics and Functional Genome Biology ; Cell Biology
• Term: since 2025
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 569400318

It is important for organisms to protect themselves from heat stress. Heat can cause proteins to unfold and damages membranes. Like animals, plants have a specialised cell signaling system to sense heat stress and activate protective pathways in the cell via heat shock transcription factors (HSFs). Although HSFs have been actively studied for many decades, how they are activated by high temperature has been unknown until recently. We have recently discovered in that HSFs in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana are controlled by special temperature responsive regions called prion-like domains. In this project we will leverage this discovery to address major new hypotheses about how HSFs are controlled by temperature. Objective 1: Determine mechanisms controlling nuclear-cytoplasmic partitioning of HSFs. Hypothesis: PLDs control HSF sequestration and nuclear-cytoplasmic partitioning. Objective 2: Characterise putative HSF enhancers for the heat shock response. Hypothesis: HSFs trigger the formation of DNA looping via the formation of “super-enhancers”. Objective 3: Understanding how PLD strength can tune temperature responses. Hypothesis: IDR sequence variation may contribute to climate adaptation. Objective 4: Determining the HSFA1a interactome. Hypothesis: The HSFA1a interactome is dynamic and plays a role in acclimation. Objective 5: Apply new understanding to engineer altered temperature responses. Hypothesis: It is possible to engineer HSFA1 activation temperatures. In total, this project will discover key insights into how the heat shock stress is sensed in plants. This will enable us to directly modulate the ability of plants to sense and respond to heat stress. This may be useful for the breeding of climate resilient crops and provide important new insights into the fundamental processes by which the heat shock response is regulated in eukaryotes.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants