Thursday, 28 August 2025
Scientists have discovered how a small protein in plants that acts like a molecular form of velcro helps stick to other target proteins, creating new connections that enable plants to respond better to environmental stresses like drought, salt and pathogens.
Researchers from the University of Nottingham’s School of Biosciences co-led the study in collaboration with the Universities of Durham , Liverpool and Cambridge. In a world first, the UK team has analysed the entire molecular machinery that adds and takes away the SUMO velcro strip. The results have been published today in Science Advances.
The team were able to detect where all 32 parts of the SUMO machinery are located by tagging each with a fluorescent tag, then studying which change after exposure to an environmental stress.
This new study shows that different parts of the SUMO machinery are regulated by distinct environmental stresses. This new knowledge will help researchers to design more resilient crops for future climate conditions.
Understanding how plants rapidly respond to stress using SUMO will be of great importance to provide breeders novel targets for improving crop resilience in the face of climate change.
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More information is available from Professor Malcolm Bennett on Malcolm.Bennett@nottingham.ac.uk
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About the University of Nottingham
Ranked 97 in the world and 17th in the UK by the QS World University Rankings, the University of Nottingham is a founding member of Russell Group of research-intensive universities. Studying at the University of Nottingham is a life-changing experience, and we pride ourselves on unlocking the potential of our students. We have a pioneering spirit, expressed in the vision of our founder Sir Jesse Boot, which has seen us lead the way in establishing campuses in China and Malaysia - part of a globally connected network of education, research and industrial engagement.
Nottingham was crowned Sports University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024 – the third time it has been given the honour since 2018 – and by the Daily Mail University Guide 2024.
The university is among the best universities in the UK for the strength of our research, positioned seventh for research power in the UK according to REF 2021. The birthplace of discoveries such as MRI and ibuprofen, our innovations transform lives and tackle global problems such as sustainable food supplies, ending modern slavery, developing greener transport, and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
The university is a major employer and industry partner - locally and globally - and our graduates are the third most targeted by the UK's top employers, according to The Graduate Market in 2024 report by High Fliers Research.
We lead the Universities for Nottingham initiative, in partnership with Nottingham Trent University, a pioneering collaboration between the city’s two world-class institutions to improve levels of prosperity, opportunity, sustainability, health and wellbeing for residents in the city and region we are proud to call home.
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