Plant low-molecular-mass heat-shock proteins: their relationship to the acquisition of thermotolerance in plants
Journal
Biotechnology and Applied Biochemistry
Journal Volume
19
Journal Issue
1
Pages
41 - 49
Date Issued
1994
Author(s)
Abstract
Among the heat-shock proteins (HSPs) induced in response to heat-shock (HS) in all organisms, the low-molecular-mass (LMM) HSPs are the most abundant and unique in plants. The HSP genes at the transcriptional and the translational levels have been well-characterized; however, relatively little is known about the physiological function of HSPs. We have been studying the biological role of plant LMM HSPs based on the suggestion by Minton, Karmin, Hahn and Minton ([1982] Proc. Natl. Acad. Aci. U.S.A. 79, 7107-711) that HSPs may act as heat-stable proteins to non-specifically stabilize other proteins which are highly susceptible to inactivation or denaturation by heat. For the future, LMM-HSP gene transfer into organisms that do not synthesize plant LMM HSPs would be a way of determining the function of LMM HSPs, and success could be of practical importance.
SDGs
Type
journal article