Heat stress due to increased temperature is a problem in agriculture worldwide. Heat stress induces a series of growth and metabolic responses in higher plants [1], [2], [3]. For example, heat stress redirects protein synthesis in higher plants by decreasing the synthesis of normal proteins accompanied by a dramatic increase in transcription and translation of a new set of proteins: heat shock proteins (HSPs) [4]. Based on their approximate molecular weight, the principal heat shock proteins are grouped into five conserved classes: HSP100, HSP90, HSP70, HSP60, and the small heat-shock proteins (sHSPs, a molecular mass of 15 to 42 kDa identified by denaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis) [4], [5]. HSPs function mainly as molecular chaperones that help other proteins maintain their native conformation, thus improving protein stability under stresses [2]. The role of HSPs to counter act effects of heat stress in plants was first hypothesized based on correlative evidence [6]. There is accumulating evidence that HSPs play important roles in thermotolerance and that some specific HSPs are causally involved in the capacity to acquire thermotolerance. For example: HSP101 in maize (Zea mays L.) and Arabidopsis [7], [8], HSP90 in Arabidopsis [9], HSP70 in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) [10], and sHSPs in maize and creeping bentgrass [11], [12].
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