PubMed · 2026-06-30
Wheat plants use small RNA molecules to temporarily suppress calcium-channel activity during heat stress, then allow those channels to recover as temperatures ease. The study identifies five candidate miRNAs as likely control points in this circuit, and shows the regulatory response is sharper and faster in heat-tolerant wheat varieties.
Five miRNAs (tae-miR399, tae-miR167a, tae-miR156a, tae-miR164, tae-miR171a) were inferred as regulatory hubs controlling wheat GLR and CNGC calcium-channel transcripts under heat stress.
RT-qPCR over 0-72 hours of heat exposure showed early miRNA induction followed by reciprocal suppression of many channel transcripts, with partial recovery by 48-72 hours in the heat-tolerant genotype.
Wheat CNGC proteins were generally alkaline and predicted as less stable than GLRs; most GLR and CNGC proteins were predicted at the plasma membrane, with a chloroplast-targeted subset also identified.
