Plants do not wait hours to respond to intense sunlight—they react within minutes. Researchers at Bielefeld University and the Australian National University have discovered a new signaling pathway that enables plants to directly adjust their protein production before genes in the cell nucleus change their activity. The findings open new perspectives for climate-resilient crops.
Key facts at a glance:
Under high light, plants specifically regulate their protein production within ten minutes.
Short sequence elements in the messenger RNA act as molecular switches.
The mechanism could help make crops more resilient to climate stress.