In this work, the function of a wheat small heat shock protein TaHSP17.8 to respond to Cd stress was characterized. TaHSP17.8 is mainly expressed in root tissues and was found to be most highly expressed 4 h after Cd stress. The function of TaHSP17.8 in Cd stress response was investigated using transgenic wheat lines. Damage to both the root and shoot tissues of transgenic lines was reduced compared with the wild type (WT) plants. In addition, wheat lines overexpressing TaHSP17.8 showed higher Cd concentrations in root tissues than WT. However, Cd concentration in the shoots of transgenic lines was significantly lower than WT. Physiological and biochemical parameters indicated that proline, malonyldialdehyde (MDA), and H₂O₂ contents were all substantially decreased in the transgenic lines after Cd treatment, while chlorophyll content was significantly higher. We therefore screened for transcription factors that interacted with TaHSP17.8, and identified TaJUB1D as a putative hit. Further analyses indicated that TaHSP17.8 binds directly to a region 1850–1900 bp upstream of the TaJUB1D open reading frame (ORF). This work confirms the function of TaHSP17.8 in response to Cd stress and identifies a novel pathway to regulate Cd stress in wheat.

在这项工作中，表征了小麦小热激蛋白TaHSP17.8对Cd胁迫的响应。TaHSP17.8主要在根组织中表达，并且在Cd胁迫后4 h被发现最高表达。使用转基因小麦品系研究了TaHSP17.8在Cd胁迫响应中的功能。与野生型（WT）植物相比，转基因品系对根和芽组织的损害均减少了。另外，过表达TaHSP17.8的小麦品系在根组织中的镉含量高于野生型。然而，转基因品系芽中的镉浓度显着低于野生型。生理生化参数表明脯氨酸，丙二醛（MDA）和H ₂ O ₂Cd处理后的转基因品系中，其含量均显着降低，而叶绿素含量则明显更高。因此，我们筛选了与TaHSP17.8相互作用的转录因子，并将TaJUB1D确定为推定命中。进一步的分析表明，TaHSP17.8直接与TaJUB1D开放阅读框（ORF）上游1850–1900 bp的区域结合。这项工作证实了TaHSP17.8响应Cd胁迫的功能，并确定了调节小麦Cd胁迫的新途径。