MELBOURNE / Australia, 20 June 2025: In a breakthrough that could reshape global food security, researchers from Monash University have uncovered a decentralised genetic system that enables plants to sense and respond to temperature with remarkable precision. The discovery paves the way for “designer crops”—plants genetically tuned to thrive in specific regional climates, from drought-prone South Asia to heatwave-stricken Australia.
The study, led by Professor Sureshkumar Balasubramanian from the Monash School of Biological Sciences, was published in the prestigious journal Science. It challenges long-standing assumptions that plants use a single thermometer-like mechanism for temperature detection—unlike animals.
“This is a fundamental shift in how we understand plant biology,” said Professor Balasubramanian. “By decoding this distributed temperature-sensing system, we now have the blueprint for breeding crops that are not only high-yielding but also climate-smart.”
Precision Agriculture Meets Genetic Engineering
The research identifies multiple temperature-responsive proteins and pathways, giving plant breeders a new set of genetic “dials” they can fine-tune. This offers the possibility of precision breeding—designing crops specifically for heat tolerance, flood resilience, or cold adaptation.
“This isn’t traditional GM technology,” noted co-author Dr. Sridevi Sureshkumar. “We can now identify and edit individual components of the plant’s temperature network with surgical precision. It’s like personalized medicine—but for agriculture.”
A Collaborative, Global Effort
The project was a joint effort with Dr. Avilash Singh Yadav from Cornell University and Professor Alok Sinha of the National Institute of Plant Genome Research in India. With wide-reaching implications, the findings offer a timely solution for countries grappling with climate-induced yield instability, particularly in Australia, India, and across South Asia.
“While global climate action is crucial, this research empowers us with tools to make agriculture itself more resilient,” said Professor Balasubramanian.
He will present the team’s work at the International Conference on Arabidopsis Research in Ghent, Belgium, on June 20, 2025.
Towards the Future of Climate-Smart Agriculture
As erratic weather patterns continue to impact crop productivity worldwide, Monash University’s discovery provides a scientific lifeline. By empowering breeders to create climate-adaptive plant varieties, the research aligns with broader goals of sustainable farming, food security, and climate adaptation.
