Molecular mechanisms and breeding strategies for heat tolerance in vegetable crops under global warming

Abstract

Extreme heat driven by climate change poses a catastrophic threat to global vegetable production, undermining nutritional security because of the heightened physiological sensitivity and succulent tissues of these crops. This review synthesizes the multistage impacts of heat stress across critical developmental phases—from germination to reproduction—emphasizing morphological impairments (such as leaf wilting and floral abortion) and physiological disruptions (including photosynthetic inhibition and oxidative damage). We systematically dissect thermotolerance mechanisms in vegetables, highlighting transcriptional reprogramming by HSFs, WRKY, and NAC transcription factors; chaperone-mediated proteostasis via HSPs; epigenetic remodeling; Ca²⁺-ROS signaling pathways; and the role of phase separation dynamics. Importantly, we propose six strategic pathways to develop heat-resilient vegetables: harnessing natural variation through pan-genome-driven allele mining; employing biotechnological interventions such as CRISPR-mediated editing and synthetic promoters; engineering multistress tolerance by targeting conserved ‘core response’ pathways; exploiting epigenetic memory to achieve transgenerational resilience; optimizing source-sink dynamics with ‘’Climate-Responsive Carbon Optimization; and applying plant growth regulators and nanotechnology to enhance thermotolerance. Together, these strategies chart a clear roadmap for climate-smart vegetable breeding and call for interdisciplinary collaboration to translate molecular discoveries into practical breeding approaches for sustainable food systems under escalating thermal extremes.

Acknowledgements

Project Supported by the National Modern Agricultural Industry Technology System (CARS-24-A-05), National Key Research and Development Program of China (2023YFD1201502), and The Major Modern Seed Industry Project of Yuelu Mountain Laboratory (YLS-2025-ZY01013).

Authors contributions

Y.L. wrote the main manuscript text; X.Z., C.X., T.W., Y.G., L.Z., Z.W., and X.D. participated in the preparation of the figures; and F.Y., F.L., S.Y., and X.Z. revised the manuscript. All authors reviewed the manuscript.

Data availability

This is a review article and does not report any original experimental data. All data and findings discussed herein are derived from previously published studies, which have been properly cited in the manuscript.

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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