The heat-shock response in higher plants: a biochemical model

Abstract A compilation of existing data on higher plant responses to heat-shock temperatures has been utilized to produce a biochemically based model of integrated cellular responses to elevated temperatures. This model describes a potential mechanism for the triggering of several biochemical responses to a thermally induced leakage of extracellular or vacuolar ions into the cytoplasm. It seems possible that many of the observed heat-shock responses are involved in the protection of (a) enzymes from inactivation and (b) nucleic acids from cleavage induced by the presence of elevated levels of specific metals.