Harnessing the plant motor protein myosin XI to engineer drought-resilient crops.
Harnessing the plant motor protein myosin XI to engineer drought-resilient crops.
With climate change exacerbating drought conditions, scientists in Japan have identified a hidden player in plant survival: myosin XI. This unexpected link between the motor protein and hormone signalling that regulates water loss deepens our understanding of plant stress responses. It also opens a promising avenue for engineering drought-resilient crops. Targeting myosin XI could enhance water-use efficiency and help reshape the future of agriculture in an increasingly arid world.
With intensifying global warming and climate change, drought has become a major threat to global agriculture, impacting crop yields and food security. To survive such adverse events, plants have evolved several strategies. One such strategy to counteract water scarcity is ‘stomatal closure,’ where stomata—the tiny pores on leaf surfaces responsible for gaseous exchange—close to limit water loss. This process is regulated by the plant hormone abscisic acid (ABA), which plays a crucial role in the plant’s internal stress-response mechanisms.
While the role of ABA in drought response is well-established, researchers have now identified a surprising contributor to this process: myosin XI, a motor protein traditionally known for transporting cellular components. To explore this, a team of researchers led by Professor Motoki Tominaga from Waseda University, Japan, conducted a study to determine whether myosin XI actively contributes to drought response in plants and to uncover the processes involved. “Although previous studies have suggested a potential involvement of myosin XI in drought stress responses, the underlying mechanisms have remained unclear,” shares Tominaga. The findings of this research were published in Volume 44 of Plant Cell Reports on June 19, 2025. The study was co-authored by Graduate Student Haiyang Liu, also from Waseda University.
Read more at Waseda University
Image: Myosin XI plays a surprising role in hormone-driven stomatal closure, helping plants conserve water during drought stress (Credit: Professor Motoki Tominaga from Waseda University)
