Transcripts accumulating during cold storage of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) tubers are sequence related to stress-responsive genes.

During the adaptation of plants to low temperature, changes in gene expression can be induced in a variety of tissues. Low-temperature-regulated gene expression was studied in cold-stored potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) tubers by two-dimensional electrophoresis of in vitro translation products. As a response to cold treatment, the relative amount of mRNA encoding at least 26 polypeptides changed. By differential screening of a cDNA library, 16 clones corresponding to cold-inducible transcripts were isolated. They were classified into four non-cross-hybridizing groups. RNA hybridizations using representative clones from each group revealed different temporal accumulation patterns for the cold-inducible transcripts. mRNAs homologous to the cDNA clones were first detectable after 1 to 3 d of cold treatment, and the highest level of expression was reached after 3 to 7 d. Transcripts corresponding to cDNA clones CI13 and CI19 were transiently expressed, whereas the steady-state level remained high for cDNA clones CI7 and CI21 during the cold storage period of 4 weeks. The DNA sequences of two cDNA clones, CI7 and CI19, have been determined. The polypeptide predicted from the DNA sequence of CI19 is sequence related to small heat-shock proteins from other plant species. The deduced protein sequence of CI7 exhibits strong homology to the dehydrin/RAB group of dehydration stress- and abscisic acid-inducible polypeptides and to cold-induced proteins from Arabidopsis and spinach.