Sunflower Heat-Shock Protein Synthesis Study under Water Deficit Condition

Abstract: To follow heat shock proteins (HSPs) expression in sunflower seeds as portion of total seed storage proteins (SSPs), we kept all agronomic factors constant except temperature. In this research, a drought-tolerant sunflower hybrid was planted under normal and drought stress conditions in order to investigate the effect of temperature on protein synthesis and accumulation during achene filling phase. The analyses of proteins were carried out by twodimensional electrophoresis (2-DE), after total protein extraction from achene 25 days after pollination. In total, at least 542 protein spots were detected in seeds at normal growth condition versus 551 protein spots in seeds of stress condition. The presence of a polypeptide bond of 17.7 kDa as a small heat shock protein (SHSP) was only observed in seed grown in drought stress and the accuracy of identification was confirmed by micro-lab-on-chip capillary electrophoresis.