Plant and Cell Physiology Advance Access published online on June 13, 2007
Plant and Cell Physiology, doi:10.1093/pcp/pcm070
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Heat stress: an inducer of programmed cell death in Chlorella saccharophila
1Dipartimento di Biologia, Università di Padova, via U. Bassi 58/B, 35131 Padova, Italy
Corresponding author: Dr. A. Zuppini. Dipartimento di Biologia Università di Padova via U. Bassi, 58/B 35131 Padova Italy. Tel: +39 049 8276241, FAX: +39 049 8276280, E-mail: zuppini{at}bio.unipd.it
| Abstract |
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Programmed cell death (PCD) has been recognized as a fundamental cellular process conserved in metazoans, plants and yeast. However, the cellular mechanisms leading to PCD have not been fully elucidated in unicellular organisms. Evidence is presented that heat stress induces PCD in Chlorella saccharophila cells. Our results demonstrate that heat shock triggers a PCD pathway occurring with characteristics features such as chromatin condensation, DNA fragmentation, cell shrinkage, detachment of the plasma membrane from the cell wall and suggest the presence of caspase 3-like activity. The caspase 3 inhibitor Ac-DEVD-CHO gave significant protection against heat shock-induced cell death. Moreover, a reduction in photosynthetic pigment contents associated with alteration of chloroplast morphology and a fairly rapid disappearance of the Rubisco large subunit and LHCII have been observed. The timing of events in the signalling cascade associated with C. saccharophila heat shock PCD response is discussed. Insights into this field may have general implications for understanding the pathway of cell death in unicellular green algae.
Keywords: caspase 3-like - Chlorella saccharophila - chloroplast - heat stress - heat stress - programmed cell death
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