Tibor Csorba and colleges investigates of the role and molecular mechanism of RNA transcription machinery regulation during heat stress adaptation in model and economically important crop species. Transcriptional regulation is a central molecular pathway that coordinates developmental changes and adaptation to environmental stresses at cellular level. Although heat stress transcriptomes were extensively studied, how the players of transcriptional machinery itself are regulated is largely unknown. In our work we propose to uncover the mechanisms coordinating the transcriptional process under ambient and heat stress conditions in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana and crop plants including Brassica napus or Hordeum vulgare. The focus of the research is on understanding how RNA polymerase II complex and its associated co-factors regulate transcriptome quality and output, under different temperature regimes. Specifically, we are (i) investigating regulation and requirement of RNA polymerase II complex subunits during heat stress, (ii) characterize the mechanism and involvement of elongation factors in maintenance of transcriptional fidelity, and (iii) analyse the genetic and molecular interaction between nuclear and cytoplasmic RNA and protein quality control pathways, needed for both development and heat adaptation processes. Plant Stress Biology group has ongoing collaborations with research groups across Europe (including Germany, France) and worldwide (including China, Malaysia, Argentina). T Csorba has successfully applied for research grants nationally and internationally.