Parthompong Vesurai.. Analysis of heat-shock protein gene expression profiles in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. subjected to different abiotic stresses. Master's Degree(Biochemistry). Mahidol University. Mahidol University Library and Knowledge Center. : Mahidol University, 2015.
Analysis of heat-shock protein gene expression profiles in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. subjected to different abiotic stresses
Abstract:
Heat shock proteins (HSPs) are important proteins in living cells that play key roles in cellular adaptation to various stress conditions. The strict correlations between plant HSP gene expressions and abiotic stresses, albeit in bits and pieces, have been well-documented and reported. In this thesis, 25 HSP gene expression profiles in a model unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii were simultaneously observed under 4 abiotic stresses compared to the normal growth condition by semi-quantitative RT-PCR and, for selected genes, by qPCR. Such stresses included temperature rises, increasing salinity, exposure to excessive irradiance, and the transition from darkness to normal light intensity. The results showed that expression of 17 out of 25 HSP genes could be detected under normal growth conditions. Under abiotic stress treatments, 12 genes were up-regulated by heat stress, while CLPB1 and HSP33 were down regulated. Transcripts of 5 genes were enhanced by increasing irradiance. When the alga was subjected to increasing salinity for 2 hours, 7 genes were found to be up regulated. After overnight dark incubation followed by exposure to normal light conditions, mRNA of 7 genes were elevated. Four HSP genes showing significant up regulation profile by the semi-quantitative RT-PCR were selected for validation by qPCR. Analyses by qPCR correlated with the RT-PCR results. Notably, HSP22A gene significantly increased its expression profile under heat stress, as determined by qPCR, with a calculated fold change of about 3,500 times, making this gene a good candidate for further studies on heat-induced regulation of gene expression. Putative promoter sequences of the 4 selected genes (about 500 bp upstream of the start codon) were obtained from the genome database and the selected abiotic stress responsive elements were located using a computer program. The promoter analysed data suggested that the space between heat shock elements (HSEs) on their putative promoter sequences might play a key role in heat-induced gene expression.