Stress Resilience Lab
Decoding how plants sense, signal, and survive heat building the genetic blueprints for climate-resilient crops. Let’s grow a green tomorrow, together
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Research Vision
Our laboratory investigates the molecular mechanisms that govern plant responses to high-temperature stress (HTS), with particular emphasis on developmental processes such as root nodule symbiosis and reproductive development. These stages are especially sensitive to heat stress, and understanding how they are disrupted is critical for securing crop yields in a warming world.
A central motivation for our work is the urgent need to address the agricultural consequences of climate change, which is driving more frequent and unpredictable episodes of extreme heat. Such conditions threaten global food security by compromising nitrogen fixation efficiency in legumes and reducing grain and seed yield across a range of crops. By dissecting the plant’s heat-stress response at the molecular level, we aim to contribute to the development of climate-resilient crop varieties capable of sustaining productivity under challenging environmental conditions.
Climate Change: https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/what-is-climate-change
Earth Land Surface Temperature
Source: Nasa Climate Change
Earth Sea Surface Temperature
Source: Nasa Climate Change
How do rising temperature impacts crop yields?
How do rising temperature impacts crop yields?
Source: Geography Atlas
Research Questions
🌿Symbiotic Nitrogen Fixation under High-Temperature Stress
We explore how elevated temperatures impair the intricate legume–rhizobia symbiosis, a mutualistic relationship critical for converting atmospheric nitrogen into forms usable by plants.
Our work examines the early signaling events of nodulation and nodule formation to understand how heat disrupts each stage.
This includes identifying heat-labile proteins and signaling pathways that limit nitrogen assimilation under stress, as well as potential molecular “rescue” strategies to maintain symbiotic efficiency.
☘️Role of secreted Proteins (SSPs) in Heat-Stress Response
We investigate the signaling roles of SSPs, tiny but highly bioactive molecules secreted by plant cells that can coordinate systemic stress responses.
Under HTS, SSPs may act as mobile stress signals, modulating gene expression, enhancing membrane stability, and protecting reproductive and vegetative tissues.
Our goal is to map their targets, modes of action, and regulatory networks, revealing new molecular levers for improving heat tolerance without compromising growth.
🔬Role of RNA-Binding Proteins (RBPs) in Heat-Stress Response
RBPs play central roles in post-transcriptional gene regulation, including RNA stability, alternative splicing, intracellular transport, and translation.
Under HTS, RBPs can selectively stabilize or degrade transcripts, ensuring precise and timely expression of stress-responsive genes.
We aim to identify key RBPs and dissect their RNA-interaction networks, focusing on how they safeguard crucial mRNAs during prolonged or repeated heat episode.
Our Approach
Our Vision
We integrate molecular biology, functional genomics, transcriptomics, and biochemical assays to build a systems-level understanding of heat stress responses. By combining controlled-environment studies with field trials, we ensure that our findings have both mechanistic depth and real-world relevance.
The ultimate goal of our research is to identify genetic targets and biochemical pathways that can be leveraged to engineer or breed crops with enhanced high-temperature tolerance. We envision translating our discoveries into practical strategies such as gene editing, and transgenic approaches that safeguard agricultural productivity, stabilize food supply chains, and ensure resilience in the face of a rapidly changing climate.
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