The heat survival code of plants: The hidden mechanism of RNA splicing uncovered

(Press-News.org) While humans can escape the heat by seeking shade or shedding layers, plants remain rooted in place. So how do they survive extreme heat? It’s a question many have wondered—and now, science has an answer.

A research team led by Dr. Hye sun Cho at the Plant Systems Engineering Research Center of the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology(KRIBB) has uncovered, for the first time at the molecular level, the mechanism by which plants adapt and survive under heat stress. The breakthrough is expected to greatly advance the development of climate-resilient crop varieties and next-generation gene regulation technologies.

All living organisms store genetic information in DNA, which is transcribed into RNA. However, this RNA contains both essential and non-essential segments. To produce functional proteins, the unnecessary parts must be precisely removed in a process known as RNA splicing.

This splicing process is carried out by a molecular machine called the spliceosome—a complex that acts like a tailor, trimming RNA with precision so that plants can produce the right proteins at the right time.

The KRIBB research team has now identified a key regulatory protein in this process, called PP2A B′η (B-prime-eta). They found that under heat stress, this protein activates the spliceosome, enabling plants to edit RNA appropriately and rapidly synthesize proteins necessary for heat tolerance. This discovery marks the first time such a heat-responsive splicing mechanism has been revealed in plants.

To further validate its role, the researchers manipulated the expression of PP2A B′η in plants. Plants lacking this protein failed to germinate or survive under high temperatures, while those overexpressing it thrived and demonstrated higher survival rates.

Additionally, the study uncovered the molecular basis behind this phenomenon: without PP2A B′η, numerous genes fail to undergo proper RNA splicing, leading to the breakdown of essential protein production and heightened vulnerability to heat stress.

“This discovery is especially timely,” said Dr. Hye sun Cho, lead author of the study. “As climate change intensifies, the demand for heat-tolerant crops will only grow. Our findings on PP2A B′η open up new avenues for developing climate-adaptive crop varieties and precision gene regulation strategies.”

Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB) is a leading national research institute in South Korea dedicated to cutting-edge research in biotechnology and life sciences. Established in 1985, KRIBB focuses on advancing scientific knowledge in areas such as molecular biology, genomics, bioinformatics, synthetic biology, and aging-related studies. As a government-funded institute, KRIBB plays a pivotal role in driving innovation, supporting national R&D strategies, and collaborating with academic and industrial partners both domestically and internationally.

This research was supported by tthe Mid-Career Research Program of the Ministry of Science and ICT, the Convergence Research Program of the National Research Council of Science and Technology (NST), the KRIBB Research Initiative Program, and the Next-Generation Crop Breeding Technology Development Program of the Rural Development Administration.

The study was published online on May 13, 2025, in The Plant Cell (Impact Factor: 11.6) under the title: "PROTEIN PHOSPHATASE 2A B′η drives spliceosome subunit dephosphorylation to mediate alternative splicing following heat stress,"

(Corresponding Authors: [KRIBB] Dr. Hye Sun Cho)

(First Authors: [KRIBB] Dr. Seung Hee Jo)

END