New Insights into Desiccation-Associated Gene Regulation by Lilium longiflorum ASR during Pollen Maturation and in Transgenic Arabidopsis - International Review of Cell and Molecular Biology - page 54

Figure 2.4 Analysis of the transpiration rates in 35S::LLA23 transgenic leaves. A: The
wild-type, 35S::LLA23 , and gin1-3 mutant plants were grown on soil for 3 weeks. The
detached leaves of wild-type, LLA23-overexpressing, or gin1-3 -mutant plants were
placed on the laboratory bench for indicated time intervals at 25 °C before the mea-
surement of weight for transpiration rate analysis. B: Micrographs showing the stomatal
closure regulation of 35S::LLA23E , gin1-3 , and wild-type plants at the time interval of
100 min, respectively. All images were taken at the same scale (bar = 30 mm).
structure and function in the cytoplasm upon desiccation. The high hydro-
philicity and abundance of LLA23 facilitate its protection against the dried
condition. We have recently evidenced that the LLA23 protein can signifi-
cantly protect enzymes from losing their activities under the conditions
of cold and freezing stresses ( Hsu et al., 2011 ). It is intriguing that Silhavy
et al. (1995) suggested that the potato DS2, a member of ASR, may play
a role of protection of the nuclear DNA against desiccation. It is possible
that the LLA23 protein might do the same for the DNA in the nucleus
of pollen grains. In addition, the unstructured ASR1 monomers in the
cytoplasm, act as chaperons, possibly to prevent proteins losing their struc-
ture during desiccation ( Konrad and Bar-Zvi, 2008 ). The presence of these
proteins in both cytoplasm and nucleoplasm suggests that they are involved
in a general protective role, but might display a distinct function in each
compartment.