Definition and research guide
This page combines a MeSH definition, publication statistics and selected research abstracts. It is a starting point for reading the literature, not a medical textbook or a systematic evidence review.
Content available: 4 complete abstracts (720 words), 10 references. Full article text is not stored or reproduced here; follow the PMID, DOI or PMC links to read the original sources and their access terms.
Definition
The ability of an organism to reduce susceptibility to heat shock, and adapt to hot temperature.
Definition: NLM Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) scope note (Public domain (U.S. National Library of Medicine); attribution requested). View the MeSH record.
Also known as: Heat Tolerance; Tolerance, Heat; Tolerances, Heat; Heat Adaptation.
Where it fits in the MeSH classification
- Broader topics
- Acclimatization; Heat-Shock Response
- See also
- Heat-Shock Response
Related concepts
- Hot Temperature
Research landscape
PubMed indexes 2,643 records tagged with the MeSH heading “Thermotolerance” (counts retrieved 2026-10-31). 1,968 of them (74.5%) were published from 2020 onward, and the busiest period so far is 2020 onward with 1,968 records.
Reviews account for 190 records (7.2%) and meta-analyses for 13. Randomized controlled trials number 14 (0.5%) as a share of all records on the topic. Randomized trials make up only a small share of this literature, so much of what is known comes from laboratory, observational or descriptive work.
Show the data
| Period | Records |
|---|---|
| through 1999 | 0 |
| 2000-2009 | 0 |
| 2010-2019 | 711 |
| 2020 onward | 1,968 |
Publication-type chart data
| Type | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Reviews | 190 | 7.2% |
| Meta-analyses | 13 | 0.5% |
| Randomized controlled trials | 14 | 0.5% |
Method: PubMed query "Thermotolerance"[MeSH Terms] with publication-type and date filters, retrieved 2026-10-31.
Reading the evidence in anatomy and physiology
Anatomy describes how body structures are built and physiology describes how they normally work, so most findings here are descriptive or mechanistic rather than evidence about treatment. Much of what is known comes from dissection, imaging, tissue studies and experiments in animals, and measurements in healthy volunteers can differ from those in people with disease or at different ages. Normal ranges vary between individuals and populations. Check whether a result was measured in people or in another species, the age and health of the participants, and the method used.
Evidence from open-access studies
These open-access studies come from PubMed’s best-match results for this heading (papers whose main topic it is), ranked here by citation count, with one recent addition. Each abstract is reproduced in full under its recorded open licence so that you can read the authors’ own words. They illustrate the literature; they are not a systematic summary of it. Citation counts measure attention, not reliability or clinical benefit.
| Study / authors | Year | Source label / design | Europe PMC citations | Licence / source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The temperature sensor TWA1 is required for thermotolerance in Arabidopsis | 2024 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 84 | cc by PMID 38750356 · DOI · PMC11136664 |
| Black Phosphorus/MnO2 Nanocomposite Disrupting Bacterial Thermotolerance for Efficient Mild-Temperature Photothermal Therapy | 2023 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 52 | cc by PMID 37698584 · DOI · PMC10602513 |
| The OsSGS3-tasiRNA-OsARF3 module orchestrates abiotic-biotic stress response trade-off in rice | 2023 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 52 | cc by PMID 37488129 · DOI · PMC10366173 |
| Limited thermal tolerance in tropical insects and its genomic signature | 2026 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 13 | cc by PMID 41781608 · DOI · PMC12999521 |
The temperature sensor TWA1 is required for thermotolerance in Arabidopsis [1]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Plants exposed to incidences of excessive temperatures activate heat-stress responses to cope with the physiological challenge and stimulate long-term acclimation1,2.
- Closing excerpt
- The identification of the plant thermosensors offers a molecular tool for adjusting thermal acclimation responses of crops by breeding and biotechnology, and a sensitive temperature switch for thermogenetics.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (188 words)
Plants exposed to incidences of excessive temperatures activate heat-stress responses to cope with the physiological challenge and stimulate long-term acclimation1,2. The mechanism that senses cellular temperature for inducing thermotolerance is still unclear3. Here we show that TWA1 is a temperature-sensing transcriptional co-regulator that is needed for basal and acquired thermotolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana. At elevated temperatures, TWA1 changes its conformation and allows physical interaction with JASMONATE-ASSOCIATED MYC-LIKE (JAM) transcription factors and TOPLESS (TPL) and TOPLESS-RELATED (TPR) proteins for repressor complex assembly. TWA1 is a predicted intrinsically disordered protein that has a key thermosensory role functioning through an amino-terminal highly variable region. At elevated temperatures, TWA1 accumulates in nuclear subdomains, and physical interactions with JAM2 and TPL appear to be restricted to these nuclear subdomains. The transcriptional upregulation of the heat shock transcription factor A2 (HSFA2) and heat shock proteins depended on TWA1, and TWA1 orthologues provided different temperature thresholds, consistent with the sensor function in early signalling of heat stress. The identification of the plant thermosensors offers a molecular tool for adjusting thermal acclimation responses of crops by breeding and biotechnology, and a sensitive temperature switch for thermogenetics.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 38750356 · DOI · PMC11136664
Black Phosphorus/MnO2 Nanocomposite Disrupting Bacterial Thermotolerance for Efficient Mild-Temperature Photothermal Therapy [2]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- The emergence of multi-drug resistant (MDR) pathogens is a major public health concern, posing a substantial global economic burden.
- Closing excerpt
- This study paves the way for the development of a novel photothermal strategy to eradicate MDR pathogens, which targets bacterial HSPs through ROS-mediated inhibition of bacterial respiratory chain activity.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (187 words)
The emergence of multi-drug resistant (MDR) pathogens is a major public health concern, posing a substantial global economic burden. Photothermal therapy (PTT) at mild temperature presents a promising alternative to traditional antibiotics due to its biological safety and ability to circumvent drug resistance. However, the efficacy of mild PTT is limited by bacterial thermotolerance. Herein, a nanocomposite, BP@Mn-NC, comprising black phosphorus nanosheets and a manganese-based nanozyme (Mn-NZ) is developed, which possesses both photothermal and catalytic properties. Mn-NZ imparts glucose oxidase- and peroxidase-like properties to BP@Mn-NC, generating reactive oxygen species (ROS) that induce lipid peroxidation and malondialdehyde accumulation across the bacterial cell membrane. This process disrupts unprotected respiratory chain complexes exposed on the bacterial cell membrane, leading to a reduction in the intracellular adenosine triphosphate (ATP) content. Consequently, mild PTT mediated by BP@Mn-NC effectively eliminates MDR infections by specifically impairing bacterial thermotolerance because of the dependence of bacterial heat shock proteins (HSPs) on ATP molecules for their proper functioning. This study paves the way for the development of a novel photothermal strategy to eradicate MDR pathogens, which targets bacterial HSPs through ROS-mediated inhibition of bacterial respiratory chain activity.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 37698584 · DOI · PMC10602513
The OsSGS3-tasiRNA-OsARF3 module orchestrates abiotic-biotic stress response trade-off in rice [3]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Recurrent heat stress and pathogen invasion seriously threaten crop production, and abiotic stress often antagonizes biotic stress response against pathogens.
- Closing excerpt
- Taken together, our study uncovers a previously unknown trade-off mechanism that regulates distinct immunity and thermotolerance through the OsSGS3-tasiRNA-OsARF3 module, highlighting the regulation of abiotic-biotic stress response trade-off in plants.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (150 words)
Recurrent heat stress and pathogen invasion seriously threaten crop production, and abiotic stress often antagonizes biotic stress response against pathogens. However, the molecular mechanisms of trade-offs between thermotolerance and defense remain obscure. Here, we identify a rice thermo-sensitive mutant that displays a defect in floret development under high temperature with a mutation in SUPPRESSOR OF GENE SILENCING 3a (OsSGS3a). OsSGS3a interacts with its homolog OsSGS3b and modulates the biogenesis of trans-acting small interfering RNA (tasiRNA) targeting AUXIN RESPONSE FACTORS (ARFs). We find that OsSGS3a/b positively, while OsARF3a/b and OsARF3la/lb negatively modulate thermotolerance. Moreover, OsSGS3a negatively, while OsARF3a/b and OsARF3la/lb positively regulate disease resistance to the bacterial pathogen Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo) and the fungal pathogen Magnaporthe oryzae (M. oryzae). Taken together, our study uncovers a previously unknown trade-off mechanism that regulates distinct immunity and thermotolerance through the OsSGS3-tasiRNA-OsARF3 module, highlighting the regulation of abiotic-biotic stress response trade-off in plants.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 37488129 · DOI · PMC10366173
Limited thermal tolerance in tropical insects and its genomic signature [4]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Insects make up the majority of all animal species, with 70% occurring in the tropics1, yet the impacts of warming on tropical insects remain highly uncertain2.
- Closing excerpt
- Our data suggest a limited capacity of insects in the Earth's most biodiverse regions to buffer future warming.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (195 words)
Insects make up the majority of all animal species, with 70% occurring in the tropics1, yet the impacts of warming on tropical insects remain highly uncertain2. This stems from sparse, taxonomically biased data on thermal tolerance of tropical insects and an incomplete understanding of the underlying physiological mechanisms3. Here we compared environmental temperatures with field-measured upper and lower thermal tolerance limits of around 2,300 insect species along Afrotropical and Neotropical elevational gradients and identified genomic signatures of thermal tolerance across the insect tree of life. We show that thermal tolerances do not proportionally track environmental temperatures but approach an asymptote in tropical lowlands. Insects at high elevations utilize plasticity to cope with rising temperatures, whereas lowland species have limited plastic abilities. Heat tolerance showed strong differences among insect orders and families, reflected in the thermal stability of proteins, suggesting that variation in thermal tolerance is founded in the fundamental protein architecture. Up to 52% of future surface temperatures and 38% of air temperatures in the Amazonian lowlands can cause heat mortality in half of the studied community. Our data suggest a limited capacity of insects in the Earth's most biodiverse regions to buffer future warming.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 41781608 · DOI · PMC12999521
Key reviews and meta-analyses
The most cited review-type papers among PubMed’s best-match results for this heading, listed with bibliographic details only. Follow the links for the full text and access terms.
- Research article Oxygen- and capacity-limited thermal tolerance: bridging ecology and physiology [5]
- Research article Insect responses to heat: physiological mechanisms, evolution and ecological implications in a warming world [6]
- Research article The Effects of Heat Adaptation on Physiology, Perception and Exercise Performance in the Heat: A Meta-Analysis [7]
- Research article Heat stress response mechanisms in pollen development [8]
- Research article Fight hard or die trying: when plants face pathogens under heat stress [9]
- Research article High temperature susceptibility of sexual reproduction in crop plants [10]
References
- Bohn L, Huang J, Weidig S, Yang Z, Heidersberger C, Genty B, et al.. The temperature sensor TWA1 is required for thermotolerance in Arabidopsis. . 2024. PMID 38750356 · DOI · PMC11136664
- Wang F, Wu Q, Wu Q, Jia G, Kong L, Zuo R, et al.. Black Phosphorus/MnO2 Nanocomposite Disrupting Bacterial Thermotolerance for Efficient Mild-Temperature Photothermal Therapy. . 2023. PMID 37698584 · DOI · PMC10602513
- Gu X, Si F, Feng Z, Li S, Liang D, Yang P, et al.. The OsSGS3-tasiRNA-OsARF3 module orchestrates abiotic-biotic stress response trade-off in rice. . 2023. PMID 37488129 · DOI · PMC10366173
- Holzmann KL, Schmitzer T, Abels A, Čorkalo M, Mitesser O, Kortmann M, et al.. Limited thermal tolerance in tropical insects and its genomic signature. . 2026. PMID 41781608 · DOI · PMC12999521
- Pörtner HO, Bock C, Mark FC. Oxygen- and capacity-limited thermal tolerance: bridging ecology and physiology. J Exp Biol. 2017. PMID 28768746 · DOI
- González-Tokman D, Córdoba-Aguilar A, Dáttilo W, Lira-Noriega A, Sánchez-Guillén RA, Villalobos F. Insect responses to heat: physiological mechanisms, evolution and ecological implications in a warming world. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc. 2020. PMID 32035015 · DOI
- Tyler CJ, Reeve T, Hodges GJ, Cheung SS. The Effects of Heat Adaptation on Physiology, Perception and Exercise Performance in the Heat: A Meta-Analysis. Sports Med. 2016. PMID 27106556 · DOI
- Chaturvedi P, Wiese AJ, Ghatak A, Záveská Drábková L, Weckwerth W, Honys D. Heat stress response mechanisms in pollen development. New Phytol. 2021. PMID 33818773 · DOI · PMC9292940
- Desaint H, Aoun N, Deslandes L, Vailleau F, Roux F, Berthomé R. Fight hard or die trying: when plants face pathogens under heat stress. New Phytol. 2021. PMID 32981118 · DOI
- Lohani N, Singh MB, Bhalla PL. High temperature susceptibility of sexual reproduction in crop plants. J Exp Bot. 2020. PMID 31560053 · DOI
About this article
- Sources
- NLM Medical Subject Headings (definition, synonyms); NCBI PubMed (counts, identifiers); Europe PMC (open-access abstracts and citation counts).
- Verification
- Every reference was resolved against PubMed on 2026-10-31; title, year and DOI matched.
- Review state
- automated source verified; no human expert review has been recorded yet.
- Version
- 1, last updated 2026-10-31.
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Evidence strength
EvidenceHelix's computed view of the study designs behind this topic: how common meta-analyses, randomized trials and reviews are, how recent the literature is, and a plain-language reading. It describes the design mix of the literature. It is not a quality appraisal of any study, and it is not medical advice.