PhD defence
Chasing Heat: Unveiling the Secrets of Heat StressMemory and Its Hidden Regulators
- T.D.C. Staacke
- Date
- Wednesday 4 November 2026
- Time
- Location
-
Academy Building
Rapenburg 73
2311 GJ Leiden
Supervisor(s)
- Prof.dr. S. Balazadeh
- Prof.dr. R. Offringa
Summary
As heat waves become more frequent and intense, understanding how plants adapt is increasingly important. Plants can prepare for future heat waves by retaining information from previous heat exposure, a process known as heat stress memory. This thesis explores why this memory differs among plants and how it helps them survive and recover from repeated heat stress.
Using the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, the research identified the natural accession Pla-0 as exhibiting an exceptionally strong and long-lasting heat stress memory. Surprisingly, this ability could not be explained by HSFA2, a well-known regulator of heat stress memory. Instead, several genomic regions contribute to the enhanced response of Pla-0, revealing unexplored genetic variation and different strategies for heat resilience.
The findings also show that heat stress memory is about more than survival. Plants need to restart growth after stress, a process influenced by the recovery of growing tissues and the availability of sugars. This highlights recovery as an important aspect of plant heat resilience.
Finally, DREB2B was identified as a regulator connecting heat stress memory with plant metabolism via the enzyme PDC1. This link suggests that plants not only adjust their protective responses after heat exposure but also reprogram their metabolism for future stress. It highlights metabolic adaptation as an important component of heat stress memory. Together, these findings reveal heat stress memory as a complex trait shaped by genetic diversity, metabolism, and growth recovery, broadening our understanding of how plants cope with increasingly frequent heat waves.
PhD dissertations
Approximately one week after the defence, PhD dissertations by Leiden PhD students are available digitally through the Leiden Repository, that offers free access to these PhD dissertations. Please note that in some cases a dissertation may be under embargo temporarily and access to its full-text version will only be granted later.
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