Membrane lipid composition affects plant heat sensing and modulates Ca²⁺-dependent heat shock response

Understanding how plants sense and respond to heat stress is central to improve crop tolerance and productivity. Recent findings in Physcomitrella patens demonstrated that the controlled passage of calcium ions across the plasma membrane regulates the heat shock response (HSR). To investigate the effect of membrane lipid composition on the plant HSR, we acclimated P. patens to a slightly elevated yet physiological growth temperature and analysed the signature of calcium influx under a mild heat shock. Compared to tissues grown at 22°C, tissues grown at 32°C had significantly higher overall membrane lipid saturation level and, when submitted to a short heat shock at 35°C, displayed a noticeably reduced calcium influx and a consequent reduced heat shock gene expression. These results show that temperature differences, rather than the absolute temperature, determine the extent of the plant HSR and indicate that membrane lipid composition regulates the calcium-dependent heat-signaling pathway.