Abstract: To follow heat shock proteins (HSPs) expression in sunflower seeds as
portion of total seed storage proteins (SSPs), we kept all agronomic factors
constant except temperature. In this research, a drought-tolerant sunflower
hybrid was planted under normal and drought stress conditions in order to
investigate the effect of temperature on protein synthesis and accumulation
during achene filling phase. The analyses of proteins were carried out by twodimensional
electrophoresis (2-DE), after total protein extraction from achene 25
days after pollination. In total, at least 542 protein spots were detected in seeds
at normal growth condition versus 551 protein spots in seeds of stress condition.
The presence of a polypeptide bond of 17.7 kDa as a small heat shock protein
(SHSP) was only observed in seed grown in drought stress and the accuracy of
identification was confirmed by micro-lab-on-chip capillary electrophoresis.
