How to turbo charge respiration – thermogenic metabolism in plants

Abstract

Plant metabolism is remarkably flexible. Rapid changes in the rate and mode of primary metabolism are essential to meet the demands of plants under changeable conditions. While it is evident that photosynthetic metabolism must be regulated to match changes in illumination, the principles that govern the regulation of respiratory metabolism have remained less obvious, even though plant respiratory rates can vary profoundly. An extreme transition in respiratory metabolism occurs when a thermogenic plant tissue enters the phase of heat generation. Here, we review our current understanding of what is required to re-model plant metabolism toward thermogenesis and highlight recent advances. We propose plant thermogenesis as a model to uncover novel mechanisms that control respiration rate. Those mechanisms may aid engineering carbon use efficiency and improve stress resilience in plants and beyond.