Increased heat tolerance of geothermal plants at the cost of reduced performance under cooler conditions.

ABSTRACT:

Background

All plants are influenced by the temperatures they are exposed to and fascinating adaptations to extreme temperatures have been described for many of them. However, the extent to which adaptation to thermal extremes is associated with costs, in terms of reduced performance at less or other stressful temperatures, is poorly known, especially for plants. In Iceland, there are two lineages of Agrostis stolonifera, one that occurs exclusively on geothermally heated soils (> 50 °C) and one that is only found on non-thermal soils. Since Iceland is a subarctic island, non-thermal areas surrounding the geothermal areas can get bitterly cold. This stark contrast in temperatures over short geographic distances provides an excellent system for studying adaptations to thermal extrem

SUBMITTER: Nuppenau JN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12351892 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature