Germins and germin-like proteins (GLPs) were reported to participate in plant response to biotic and abiotic stresses involving hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) production, but their role in mitigating heat stress is poorly understood. Here, we investigated the ability of a Solanum tuberosum L. GLP (StGLP) gene isolated from the yeast cDNA library generated from heat-stressed potato plants and characterized its role in generating innate and/or acquired thermo-tolerance to potato via genetic transformation. The transgenic plants exhibited enhanced tolerance to gradual heat stress (GHS) compared with sudden heat shock (SHS) in terms of maximal cell viability, minimal ion leakage and reduced chlorophyll breakdown. Further, three StGLP transgenic lines (G9, G12 and G15) exhibited enhanced production of H₂O₂, which was either reduced or blocked by inhibitors of H₂O₂ under normal and heat stress conditions. This tolerance was mediated by up-regulation of antioxidant enzymes (catalase, ascorbate peroxidase and glutathione reductase) and other heat stress-responsive genes (StHSP70, StHSP20 and StHSP90) in transgenic potato plants. These results demonstrate that H₂O₂ produced by over-expression of StGLP in transgenic potato plants triggered the reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging signaling pathways controlling antioxidant and heat stress-responsive genes in these plants imparting tolerance to heat stress.

据报道，胚芽和胚芽样蛋白 ( GLP ) 参与植物对涉及过氧化氢 (H ₂ O ₂ ) 产生的生物和非生物胁迫的反应，但它们在缓解热胁迫中的作用却知之甚少。在这里，我们研究了从热应激马铃薯植物产生的酵母 cDNA 文库中分离的Solanum tuberosum L. GLP ( StGLP ) 基因的能力，并描述了其在通过遗传转化产生对马铃薯的先天和/或获得性耐热性的作用。与突发热休克 (SHS) 相比，转基因植物对渐进热应激 (GHS) 的耐受性更强。细胞活力、最小的离子泄漏和减少的叶绿素分解。此外，三个StGLP转基因品系（G9、G12 和 G15）表现出 H ₂ O _{2产量增加，}在正常和热应激条件下，H ₂ O ₂抑制剂减少或阻断了 H这种耐受性是由转基因马铃薯植物中抗氧化酶（过氧化氢酶、抗坏血酸过氧化物酶和谷胱甘肽还原酶）和其他热应激反应基因（StHSP70、 StHSP20和StHSP90 ）的上​​调介导的。这些结果表明，由过表达StGLP产生的 H ₂ O ₂在转基因马铃薯植物中触发了活性氧（ROS）清除信号通路，这些信号通路控制这些植物中的抗氧化和热应激反应基因，从而赋予热应激耐受性。