Rice yields doubled as Chinese Academy of Sciences cracks heat sensing "double decoding" mechanism
Researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, working with Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Guangzhou National Laboratory, have published a breakthrough study in Cell revealing how rice perceives high temperatures. For the first time, they fully decoded the "double decoding" mechanism of heat sensing, opening the door to precisely designing heat‑tolerant crop varieties.
The study mapped the complete signaling pathway from cell membrane lipid remodeling to gene expression inside the nucleus. High temperatures trigger the cell membrane to produce phosphatidic acid (PA) signals, which are transmitted to the nucleus by the bifunctional protein MdPDE1. This reduces cyclic adenosine phosphate (cAMP) levels, activating heat‑tolerance genes and forming the cascade "G protein‑DGK7‑PA‑MdPDE1‑cAMP." This discovery fills a decades‑long gap in plant heat sensing research.
Based on this mechanism, the team created new germplasm of gradient heat‑tolerant rice. A single‑gene improved line (DGK7 or MdPDE1) increased yields by 50-60 percent under simulated high‑temperature environments. A two‑gene synergistic improved line (TT2+DGK7) doubled yields and improved rice quality, with no negative growth effects under normal room temperature.
This achievement provides a precise breeding plan to counter food production losses caused by global warming. The team had previously discovered the heat‑tolerance gene TT3 (published in Science in 2022) and the alkaline heat‑tolerance gene ATT1/2 (published in Nature in 2025). Together, these breakthroughs highlight China's continued leadership in crop stress research.
The research was led by the Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, one of China's premier scientific institutions founded in 1949. The Academy oversees numerous laboratories across physics, chemistry, engineering, and biology, and has played a central role in advancing agricultural biotechnology. Its plant science division focuses on improving crop resilience and food security, positioning China as a global leader in agricultural innovation.
