{"id":31967,"date":"2025-09-22T12:52:59","date_gmt":"2025-09-22T10:52:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uni-freiburg.de\/en\/?p=31967"},"modified":"2025-09-22T12:53:01","modified_gmt":"2025-09-22T10:53:01","slug":"growth-switch-for-plant-adaptability-discovered","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uni-freiburg.de\/en\/growth-switch-for-plant-adaptability-discovered\/","title":{"rendered":"Growth switch for plant adaptability discovered"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Freiburg, 22.09.2025<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Researchers in Freiburg have discovered a mechanism by which plant hormones are specifically regulated to adapt growth to environmental conditions \u2013 controlled by the so-called ERAD machinery. The study has been published in the journal Science Advances<\/em>. The findings could help make crops more resilient and agriculture more sustainable in the future.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Arabidopsis plant in laboratory conditions. Photo: J\u00fcrgen Kleine-Vehn<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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How does a plant manage to quickly adapt its growth to changing environmental conditions? A research team at the University of Freiburg led by plant physiologist Prof. Dr. J\u00fcrgen Kleine-Vehn<\/strong> has discovered a previously unknown mechanism for this: a cellular degradation machinery acts in the background like a switch that decides whether the plant hormone auxin is available or not. This mechanism enables the plant to respond to the environment and dynamically regulate its growth, whether it be root growth in the soil or shoot curvature towards the light. The results have been published in the journal Science Advances<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PILS proteins as gatekeepers<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

At the heart of the newly discovered control mechanism are the so-called PILS proteins. They act like gatekeepers: sometimes they retain auxin inside the cell, sometimes they release it for growth. Which decision is made depends on how many of these proteins are present. The Freiburg researchers have now been able to show that a cellular degradation machinery, known as ERAD machinery, regulates the number of PILS proteins as needed. If auxin is required due to changes in the environment, the gatekeepers are degraded and the plant changes its growth mode. Under stable conditions, however, the proteins remain in place and inhibit the hormone response.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\u201cYou can think of this mechanism as a molecular switch. The plant decides whether auxin is effective or not, which thus flexibly adapts its growth to the environment.\u201d \t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\tProf. Dr. J\u00fcrgen Kleine-Vehn\t\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\tProfessor of Molecular Plant Physiology at the Faculty of Biology at the University of Freiburg and member and spokesperson for the CIBSS Cluster of Excellence\t\t\t<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Possible key to sustainable agriculture in the future<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou can think of this mechanism as a molecular switch,\u201d says study leader Kleine-Vehn. \u201cThe plant decides whether auxin is effective or not, which thus flexibly adapts its growth to the environment.\u201d The discovery opens up a new perspective on the fine control of plant development. It shows how closely internal control mechanisms and external signals are interlinked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seinab Noura<\/strong>, a biologist at the University of Freiburg and first author of the study, also emphasises the significance of the findings: \u201cIf we make targeted use of such mechanisms, crops could become more resistant to stress.\u201d In the long term, this knowledge could also help to make plants more robust against climate change, a key factor for sustainable agriculture in the future.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Further Information<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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