article published yes Haiyue Ai author Julia Bellstaedt author Kai Bartusch author 0c51b9f5-90c8-11f1-b4ef-9ad5d3d9a34a0000-0003-2708-5545 Lennart Eschen‐Lippold author Steve Babben author Gerd Ulrich Balcke author Alain Tissier author Bettina Hause author Tonni Grube Andersen author Carolin Delker author Marcel Quint author Roots are highly plastic organs enabling plants to adapt to a changing below‐ground environment. In addition to abiotic factors like nutrients or mechanical resistance, plant roots also respond to temperature variation. Below the heat stress threshold, Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings react to elevated temperature by promoting primary root growth, possibly to reach deeper soil regions with potentially better water saturation. While above‐ground thermomorphogenesis is enabled by thermo‐sensitive cell elongation, it was unknown how temperature modulates root growth. We here show that roots are able to sense and respond to elevated temperature independently of shoot‐derived signals. This response is mediated by a yet unknown root thermosensor that employs auxin as a messenger to relay temperature signals to the cell cycle. Growth promotion is achieved primarily by increasing cell division rates in the root apical meristem, depending on de novo local auxin biosynthesis and temperature‐sensitive organization of the polar auxin transport system. Hence, the primary cellular target of elevated ambient temperature differs fundamentally between root and shoot tissues, while the messenger auxin remains the same. Springer2023 eng 0261-4189 1460-2075 3707152510.15252/embj.2022111926 4211 yes Ai H, Bellstaedt J, Bartusch K, et al. Auxin‐dependent regulation of cell division rates governs root thermomorphogenesis. <i>The EMBO Journal</i>. 2023;42(11). doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.15252/embj.2022111926">10.15252/embj.2022111926</a> H. Ai, J. Bellstaedt, K. Bartusch, L. Eschen‐Lippold, S. Babben, G.U. Balcke, A. Tissier, B. Hause, T.G. Andersen, C. Delker, M. Quint, The EMBO Journal 42 (2023). Ai, Haiyue, et al. “Auxin‐dependent Regulation of Cell Division Rates Governs Root Thermomorphogenesis.” <i>The EMBO Journal</i>, vol. 42, no. 11, EMBJ2022111926, Springer, 2023, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.15252/embj.2022111926">10.15252/embj.2022111926</a>. Ai, Haiyue, Julia Bellstaedt, Kai Bartusch, Lennart Eschen‐Lippold, Steve Babben, Gerd Ulrich Balcke, Alain Tissier, et al. “Auxin‐dependent Regulation of Cell Division Rates Governs Root Thermomorphogenesis.” <i>The EMBO Journal</i>. Springer, 2023. <a href="https://doi.org/10.15252/embj.2022111926">https://doi.org/10.15252/embj.2022111926</a>. Ai, H., Bellstaedt, J., Bartusch, K., Eschen‐Lippold, L., Babben, S., Balcke, G. U., … Quint, M. (2023). Auxin‐dependent regulation of cell division rates governs root thermomorphogenesis. <i>The EMBO Journal</i>. Springer. <a href="https://doi.org/10.15252/embj.2022111926">https://doi.org/10.15252/embj.2022111926</a> H. Ai <i>et al.</i>, “Auxin‐dependent regulation of cell division rates governs root thermomorphogenesis,” <i>The EMBO Journal</i>, vol. 42, no. 11. Springer, 2023. Ai H, Bellstaedt J, Bartusch K, Eschen‐Lippold L, Babben S, Balcke GU, Tissier A, Hause B, Andersen TG, Delker C, Quint M. 2023. Auxin‐dependent regulation of cell division rates governs root thermomorphogenesis. The EMBO Journal. 42(11), EMBJ2022111926. 231312026-10-13T11:15:14Z2026-10-14T10:36:57Z