Heat Shock Proteins from Pyropia seriata Increase Heat Tolerance in Chlamydomonas

The heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) is a key survival component under stress and normal physiological conditions. Pyropia seriata grows on intertidal rocks, where it is exposed to environmental changes including desiccation and temperature variations.

Dong-Woog Choi of the Chonnam National University in South Korea identified five HSP70 cDNAs from P. seriata transcriptome. Analysis suggested that most of the PsHSP70 genes were detected under normal growth and heat stress conditions, except PsHSP70c. PsHSP70a displayed the strongest response to heat stress.

PsHSP70a-transformed Chlamydomonas showed a much higher survival and growth rates than those of wild-types under high temperature conditions. These results indicate that the Pyropia genome contains at least five HSP70 genes and that PsHSP70a is involved in high temperature stress tolerance.

For more information on the study, the full article is on Plant Omics Journal.