Trees remember heatwaves
An Aussie eucalypt can ‘remember’ past
exposure to extreme heat, which makes the tree
and its offspring better able to cope with future
heatwaves, according to new research from
Macquarie University.
This finding could have important implications
for restoring ecosystems and climate-proofing
forestry, as the number of hot days and
heatwaves increase due to climate change.
“Unlike animals, which can bury deeper into the soil or flee to cooler locations, plants are stuck in one spot and so
must be able to withstand extreme conditions in situ,” says Department of Biological Sciences’ Rachael Gallagher,
senior author of the paper published in the journal Functional Ecology.
Rachael and her team looked at how different populations of Eucalyptus grandis seedlings, commonly known as
flooded gum or rose gum, responded when they were exposed to a simulated four-day 42°C heatwave in the lab.
The researchers found that seedlings whose parents had experienced more days of extreme heat in the wild were
better able to cope with the simulated heatwave conditions, because they made more protective proteins to protect
their cells from heat stress. These protective proteins act as molecular chaperones: they transport other proteins to
their correct locations within the cell, and help the cell to keep functioning normally despite the stress it is under.
“This is a significant new finding,” says Rachael, “we have shown that trees have a ‘molecular memory’ for extreme
heat.
”Photo of the flooded gum or rose gum (Eucalyptus grandis) by Geoexplore
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