HSFA1a: the quarterback of heat stress response and 3D-chromatin organization.

In eukaryotes, the highly complex chromatin exhibits structural dynamism to modulate cellular responses. Recently, Huang et al. have shown a novel role of the heat stress master regulator, HSFA1a, in transiently reorganizing the 3D chromatin to promote distal and proximal enhancer-promoter contacts to regulate stress-responsive genes in tomato.

Cultivar-biased regulation of HSFA7 and HSFB4a govern high-temperature tolerance in tomato.

Cultivar-biased regulation of HSFB4a and HSFA7 mediates heat stress tolerance/sensitivity in tomato. Reduced HSFB4a repressor levels and enhanced HSFA7 activator levels govern thermo-tolerance in tolerant cultivars. Heat shock factors (HSFs) are at the core of heat stress (HS) response in plants.

Characterization of novel regulators for heat stress tolerance in tomato from Indian sub-continent.

The footprint of tomato cultivation, a cool region crop that exhibits heat stress (HS) sensitivity, is increasing in the tropics/sub-tropics. Knowledge of novel regulatory hot spots from varieties growing in the Indian sub-continent climatic zones could be vital for developing HS-resilient crops. Comparative transcriptome-wide signatures of a tolerant (CLN1621L) and sensitive (CA4) cultivar pair shortlisted from a pool of varieties exhibiting variable thermo-sensitivity using physiological-, survival- and yield-related traits revealed redundant to cultivar-specific HS regulation.