Engineered enzymes may help plants adapt to higher temperatures

As global temperatures rise, it's imperative that plants can adapt to new and changing conditions. Michigan State University researchers from the Walker lab are looking at ways to give plants an assist. More specifically, their research aims to help plants adapt to changing temperatures by introducing engineered enzymes that will increase plants' heat tolerance.

The lab is looking to increase the thermotolerance of plants, or their ability to survive at high temperatures. These temperatures can wreak havoc on plants, down to the cellular machinery that keeps them alive. The plant's ability to maintain its physical and chemical structures while under these temperature conditions is known as thermostability.

The lab's recent paper looks at increasing thermostability of an enzyme known as glycerate 3-kinase, or GLYK, in the plant Arabidopsis thaliana, commonly known as thale cress. This enzyme is the final step of a vital plant process known as photorespiration, which is expected to become even more important as temperatures increase.

Combining artificial intelligence-assisted enzyme folding models with molecular dynamics from the PRL Vermaas lab, the researchers were able to identify parts of enzyme in alga Cyanidioschyzon merolae, which lives in acidic volcanic hot springs, referred to colloquially as loops, which were responsible for thermostability. These loops were introduced to the Arabidopsis GLYK enzyme.

The researchers found that with the loops introduced, the Arabidopsis enzyme had increased thermotolerance, which would allow it to better adapt to a changing climate.

Image source: Roze et al. (2024), Plant Biotechnology Journal.