Heat stress-induced response of the proteomes of leaves from Salvia splendens Vista and King.

Background: Salvia splendens Ker-Gawl, most commonly used in China to add a splash of brilliant color to the surroundings during the warm season, is subject to heat stress, which can greatly affect its growth and yield.

Results: To gain a comprehensive understanding of heat-tolerance mechanisms of S. splendens, we assessed the heat-stress responses and characterized the proteomes of leaves from two varieties, Vista (heat resistant) and King (heat sensitive). Denaturing two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) and tandem mass spectrometry were used to identify heat-responsive proteins. Heat stress induced the reversible inactivation of photosystem II reaction centers and increased the amounts of antioxidative enzymes, thereby decreasing oxidative damage. Vista leaves had a much greater ability than King leaves to develop light-protective and oxygen-scavenging systems in response to heat stress. More than 1213 leaf proteome spots were reproducibly detected in the gels, with a total of 33 proteins in each leaf type differentially regulated when Salvia splendens were heat stress treated. Of these proteins, 23 and 28 from Vista and King, respectively, were identified.

Conclusions: Most of the identified proteins are involved in photosynthesis, metabolism, protein processing, or stress response, indicating that many different processes work together to establish a new cellular homeostasis in response to heat stress.