MOLECULAR GENETIC STUDIES ON HEAT SHOCK GENES IN MAIZE (ZEA MAYS L.)

Abstract

This study was carried out in Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, Genetics and Cytology Department, National Research Centre and Laboratory of Molecular Genetics, Department of Genetics, Faculty of Agriculture, Ain Shams University; during the period from 2012 to 2018. The objectives of this study were; Characterization of heat shock-induced proteins for using as molecular markers, cloning and transformation their genes to improve heat stress tolerance in Egyptian maize inbred lines. 1. Protein electrophoretic inbred lines identification The embryo total proteins were extracted for the four maize inbred lines in this study; K1, K7, G342 and Rg59. The electrophoretic patterns showed 18 protein bands in both of K1 and K7 inbred lines in the same loci but they gave different in densities and intensities, while the other two lines G342 and Rg59 manifested 17 equal bands in the molecular weights with different densities and intensities. The protein banding patterns ranged in molecular weights from 10 to 170 kDa. 2. Heat shock proteins synthesis The high temperature effect on the four maize inbred lines exposed to 45°C for 2 hours and 4 hours at 14-days old besides control (25°C) was studied. Several protein bands varied between low and intermediate molecular weights were induced after exposing to heat stress of 45°C. The SDS-PAGE revealed a total of 18 bands ranged from 10 to 200 kDa. The results showed that, in the inbred line k1, some hsp protein bands were not detectable in the control but appeared after exposing to temperature at 45°C for 2 hours; such as bands of 82 kD and 17 kDa,