October 30, 2025 – Our colleague Dr Jelena Mlinarec Novosel co-authored a study showing that polyploid plants maintain higher photosynthetic performance and stronger physiological responses under heat and salt stress compared with diploids.
The article, titled “Photosynthetic Efficiency and Proteome Response of Diploid and Polyploid Arabidopsis thaliana After Heat or Salt Stress,” authored by Nenad Malenica , Roko Gvozdenica Šipić, Anamaria Ðerek, Jelena Mlinarec, Mirta Tkalec, and Dubravko Pavoković, was published on October 28, 2025, in the scientific journal Genes.
The study, led by scientists from the Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, in collaboration with colleagues from the Biozentrum, University of Basel, and Oikon – Institute of Applied Ecology, found that differential protein expression patterns among ploidy levels may reflect distinct energy-saving strategies and modifications in protein structure and function. The work highlights the importance of polyploidy in improving plant stress resilience and provides insights for breeding stress-tolerant crops in a changing climate.
Read the full article here: LINK