Molecular characterization of two small heat shock protein genes in rice: their expression patterns, localizations, networks, and heterogeneous overexpressions

Heat stress is an example of a severe abiotic stress that plants can suffer in the field, causing a significant detrimental effect on their growth and productivity. Understanding the mechanism of plant response to heat stress is important for improving the productivity of crop plants under global warming. We used a microarray dataset that is deposited in the public database to evaluate plant responses to heat stress, and we selected the top 10 genes that are highly expressed under heat stress in rice. Two genes, OsSHSP1 (Os03g16030) and OsSHSP2 (Os01g04380), were selected for further study. These genes were highly induced in response to salt and drought but not in response to cold. In addition, OsSHSP1 and OsSHSP2 gene transcripts were induced under abscisic acid and salicylic acid but not under jasmonic acid and ethylene. Subcellular localization of proteins of 35S::OsSHSP1 were associated with the cytosol, whereas those of and 35S::OsSHSP2 were associated with the cytosol and nucleus. Heterogeneous overexpression of both genes exhibited higher germination rates than those of wild-type plants under the salt treatment, but not under heat or drought stress, supporting a hypothesis regarding functional specialization of members of small heat-shock protein family over evolutionary time. The network of both genes harboring nine sHSPs as well as at least 13 other chaperone genes might support the idea of a role for sHSPs in the chaperone network. Our findings might provide clues to shed light on the molecular functions of OsSHSP1 and OsSHSP2 in response to abiotic stresses, especially heat stress.