The Heat Shock Response of Carrot : Protein Variations between Cultured Cell Lines

We have defined several parameters surrounding the heat shock response of cultured cells of carrot (Daucus carota L.) and have found that these cells exhibit a typical “higher plant” heat shock response. In particular, the resolution of the heat shock proteins (hsps) by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) has revealed a pattern of proteins very similar to the hsps from soybean; specifically, the low molecular weight class is composed of approximately 15 to 20 different polypeptides which likely represent different members of a small gene family. In addition, we have compared the (2-D) PAGE profiles of hsps isolated from several different cultured cell lines currently maintained in our laboratory and have found notable differences in the low molecular weight hsps between cell lines. Some of the differences appear to be quantitative, while others may be qualitative. Each of the cell lines was derived from a different seedling of the same seed stock of the same cultivar; thus, genetic differences should be minimized. In addition, two of the cell lines, which show clear differences, were initially derived from a single parental line, and thus arose from a single genetic stock. Possible explanations for the cell line differences observed here are either partial aneuploidy or modified gene regulation resulting from molecular changes during the time in culture (i.e. somaclonal variation). These observations serve to highlight the potential for variation that exists in cells in culture even for such a highly conserved response and gene set as the heat shock genes.