At‐HSP17.6A, encoding a small heat‐shock protein in Arabidopsis, can enhance osmotolerance upon overexpression

• Published in: The Plant journal : for cell and molecular biology Vol. 27; no. 5; pp. 407 - 415
• Main Authors: Sun, Weining, Bernard, Catherine, Van De Cotte, Brigitte, Van Montagu, Marc, Verbruggen, Nathalie
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Science Ltd 01.09.2001; Blackwell Science
• Subjects: Adaptation, Biological; Arabidopsis - physiology; Arabidopsis Proteins - physiology; Arabidopsis thaliana; At-HSP17.6A protein; Biological and medical sciences; Cytosol; Desiccation; drought; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gene Expression Regulation; Genes, Plant; Heat-Shock Proteins - physiology; Hot Temperature; molecular chaperone; Molecular Chaperones - physiology; Osmotic Pressure; Physical agents; Plant physiology and development; Plant Proteins - physiology; Recombinant Proteins; salt stress; seed desiccation; Seeds - physiology; transgenic plants; Vegetative apparatus, growth and morphogenesis. Senescence; Chaperone; Tolerance; Gene expression; Structure function relationship; Stress; Posttranscriptional modification; Arabidopsis thaliana; Osmotic shock; Gene; Cruciferae; Dicotyledones; Thermal shock; Seed; Angiospermae; Heat shock protein; Development; Spermatophyta; Experimental plant
• ISSN: 0960-7412; 1365-313X
• DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-313X.2001.01107.x

Summary Owing to their sessile lifestyle, it is crucial for plants to acquire stress tolerance. The function of heat‐shock proteins, including small heat‐shock proteins (smHSPs), in stress tolerance is not fully explored. To gain further knowledge about the smHSPs, the gene that encoded the cytosolic class II smHSP in Arabidopsis thaliana (At‐HSP17.6A) was characterized. The At‐HSP17.6A expression was induced by heat and osmotic stress, as well as during seed development. Accumulation of At‐HSP17.6A proteins could be detected with heat and at a late stage of seed development, but not with osmotic stress, suggesting stress‐induced post‐transcriptional regulation of At‐HSP17.6A expression. Overproduction of At‐HSP17.6A could increase salt and drought tolerance in Arabidopsis. The chaperone activity of At‐HSP17.6A was demonstrated in vitro.