Identification by In Vitro Translation and Northern Blot Analysis of Heat Shock mRNAs Isolated from Wheat Seeds Exposed to Different Temperatures During Ripening

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Poly(A)+RNA isolated from durum and common wheat seeds exposed to different thermal regimes during ripening, was translated in vitro using a rabbit reticulocyte system. The modification of protein synthesis was studied with particular regard to the heat shock proteins produced under high temperature conditions. One-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis showed products ranging in size from 14 to 100 kDa, some of which were present only when mRNA samples from high temperature-treated plants were translated. The mRNAs were also analysed by Northern hybridization with specific probes for heat shock proteins. The results clearly show that wheat plants respond to thermal stress by triggering the typical mechanisms of the heat shock response including activation of the heat shock genes, in developing grains as well as other plant parts.