Heat Shock Inhibits α-Amylase Synthesis in Barley Aleurone without Inhibiting the Activity of Endoplasmic Reticulum Marker Enzymes

Abstract

The effects of heat shock on the synthesis of .alpha.-amylase and on the membranes of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) of barely (Hordeum vulgare) aleurone were studied. Heat shock, imposed by raising the temperature of incubation from 25.degree.C to 40.degree.C for 3 hours, inhibits the accumulation of .alpha.-amylase and other proteins in the incubation medium of barely aleurone layers treated with gibberellic acid and Ca2+. When ER is isolated from heat-shocked aleurone layers, less newly synthesized .alpha.-amylase is found associated with this membrane system. ER membranes, as indicated by the activities of NADH cytochrome c reductase and ATP-dependent Ca2+ transport, are not destroyed by heat stress, however. Although heat shock did not reduce the activity of ER membrane marker enzymes, it altered the buoyant density of these membranes. Whereas ER from control tissue showed a peak of marker enzyme activity at 27% to 28% sucrose (1.113- 1.120 grams per cubic centimeter), ER from heat-shocked tissue peaked at 30% to 32% sucrose (1.127-1.137 grams per cubic centimeter). The synthesis of a group of proteins designated as heat-shock proteins (HSPs) was stimulated by heat shock. These HSPs were localized to different compartments of the aleurone cell. Several proteins ranging from 15 to 30 kilodaltons were found in the ER and the mitochondrial/plasma membrane fractions of heat-shocked cells, but none of the HSPs accumulated in the incuation medium of heat-shock aleurone layers.