It's too hot to reproduce? The plants' response to the global increase in average temperature. It is predicted that in the coming decades global warming will have negative effects on agricultural productivity and therefore on the food supply chain. The impact will be strongest in some ecologically vulnerable areas of the planet, inducing significant stress on plant species and critically affecting their sexual reproduction. This phenomenon causes morphological, physiological, and molecular alterations in reproductive organs that negatively impact crop yield, with heavy economic consequences. In Angiosperms, which are the main source of plant products, seeds, and edible fruits, the male component of the flower is most affected by heat stress, often leading to male sterility. While several studies have investigated these aspects, HEATSTOP proposes a new approach to the problem, focusing on the molecular mechanisms underlying pollen-pistil interactions and investigating how they are influenced by high daily temperatures during pollen development and release.
