HOW PLANTS MEASURE TEMPERATURE
How plants use a light receptor as a thermosensor?
Plants respond very sensitive to temperature changes in their environment. At 22 degrees Celsius, for example, the model plant Arabidopsis shows compact growth. But if the temperature rises only a few degrees, plants exhibit an increased elongation growth in the shoot and leaves, enabling plant organs to cool down more easily by evaporation. How plants sense temperature was unknown, until now. In two complementary studies published in Science magazine, researchers from the University of Freiburg collaborated with researchers from Cambridge, England; Buenos Aires, Argentina; and St. Louis, Missouri, USA, to demonstrate how the light receptor phytochrome B also works as a temperature sensor in plants.
