Can We Engineer Crops to Withstand Climate Change and Increasing Temperatures?

By Dr. Chinta SidharthanReviewed by Lily Ramsey, LLMMar 12 2025

With rising global temperatures, ensuring food security has become an urgent challenge. Heat stress is one of the biggest threats to crop productivity, resulting in lower yields and affecting food supply chains.

In a recent review published in the journal aBIOTECH, researchers from China investigated the mechanisms that help crops tolerate extreme heat, highlighting genetic adaptations, thermomemory, and breeding techniques that could enhance resilience.

Understanding how plants respond to high temperatures at the genetic level could help develop heat-resistant crop varieties.

​​​​​​​Study: Emerging strategies to improve heat stress tolerance in crops. Image Credit: SALMONNEGRO-STOCK/Shutterstock.com

Rising Global Temperatures

Extreme temperatures are becoming more frequent due to climate change, posing a major threat to agriculture worldwide. Crops rely on intricate physiological and genetic responses to survive heat stress, but these natural adaptations often fall short under prolonged high temperatures.

Traditional agricultural methods have made some progress in enhancing heat tolerance, but the complexity of genetic traits and environmental variability limits their effectiveness. However, recent advances in molecular biology and genome editing offer new strategies for improving thermotolerance.

Scientists have identified key genes and regulatory pathways involved in heat stress response, but gaps remain in understanding how these mechanisms interact across different plant species and growth stages.

Additionally, while some crops exhibit memory-like responses to repeated heat exposure — known as thermomemory — the underlying processes require further investigation.

Exploring Heat Tolerance In Plants

In the increasingly unpredictable future of food production due to climate change, understanding the mechanisms through which plants survive heat stress is crucial for developing resilient crop varieties capable of withstanding extreme conditions.

The present study explored the genetic and molecular mechanisms underlying crop resilience to heat stress. The researchers conducted a comprehensive review of existing studies, analyzing the roles of key genes, transcription factors, and physiological responses involved in thermotolerance.

The study also focused on the importance of thermomemory, a phenomenon where plants "remember" previous heat exposure and respond more effectively to future stress. By examining gene expression patterns, the scientists identified specific regulatory elements that control heat-induced changes in plant metabolism and development.

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS), which help identify heat-tolerance genes in various crop species, were examined in depth in this review.

Additionally, the researchers examined the potential of clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-based genome editing to introduce targeted mutations that enhance thermotolerance. The study also examined the significance of quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping, which aids in pinpointing genetic regions linked to heat resistance.

Beyond genetic modifications, the researchers reviewed chemical treatments that could boost heat resilience, including phytohormones such as cytokinins, brassinosteroids, and ethylene precursors, which have shown promise in mitigating heat-induced damage.

The researchers also explored the impact of lipid composition in cellular membranes to investigate whether changes in phospholipid saturation play a crucial role in temperature adaptation.

Major Findings

The study found that plants employ a range of genetic and biochemical strategies to survive heat stress. A key discovery was the role of thermomemory, where crops exposed to mild heat stress exhibit improved resilience during subsequent extreme heat events.

This response was found to be regulated by specific genes, including heat shock factors and heat shock proteins, which help maintain cellular stability under high temperatures.

The review also discussed several QTLs identified through GWAS, which were associated with heat tolerance, providing valuable targets for crop breeding programs.

Moreover, the researchers found that genetic variations influencing membrane lipid composition play a crucial role in maintaining cell integrity under heat stress. In particular, plants with higher levels of unsaturated phospholipids exhibit better temperature adaptation.

Additionally, the study highlighted the potential of CRISPR-based genome editing to enhance thermotolerance by modifying key regulatory genes. This approach enables precise genetic improvements without the drawbacks associated with conventional breeding methods.

Chemical treatments, such as the application of cytokinins and brassinosteroids, were also found to alleviate heat-induced damage by improving antioxidant activity and maintaining reproductive success in crops like rice and wheat. However, the long-term viability and cost-effectiveness of these treatments require further investigation.

The study also discussed some of the challenges in understanding the mechanisms of heat stress tolerance in plants. These include replicating field conditions in laboratory experiments.

Furthermore, while many genetic mechanisms have been identified, their interactions with environmental variables remain complex, and the researchers believe that further research is needed to integrate genetic, biochemical, and ecological perspectives to develop comprehensive heat-resilience strategies.

Conclusions

To summarize, this study provided valuable insights into the physiological and genetic mechanisms underlying heat tolerance in some crops.

The results suggested that by leveraging molecular biology, genome editing, and breeding innovations, researchers can develop resilient crop varieties to withstand rising temperatures.

However, challenges remain in translating laboratory findings into field applications, and future research should focus on refining these strategies to ensure sustainable food production in an era of climate change.