Role of heat shock proteins and analysis of gene expression in response to high temperatures in date palm (Phoenix dactylifera).

Background: Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) is an important agricultural crop in the Middle East and North Africa. The productivity of agricultural crops and physiological function of plants can be greatly affected by climate change that is currently ongoing. According to a recent study, heat waves caused by global warming and climate change will continue to worsen. Therefore, it is necessary to enhance the tolerance of plants, promote growth, and study solutions to reduce yield losses.

Objective: The objective of this study is to investigate the role of specific heat-shock proteins (HSPs) from date palm in conferring heat tolerance to plants by analyzing gene expression and generating transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana.

Methods: qRT-PCR was used to analyze 49 genes in date palms ('Sukkary' and 'Medjool') exposed at 37 °C for 2 h for heat-shock genes (HSPs). We selected specific heat-shock genes and generated transgenic Arabidopsis plants including PdHSP17.6, PdHSP22.0, PdHSP23.6, and PdHSP26.5. Photosynthetic efficiency (Fv/Fm) was assessed under heat-stress conditions.

Results: Transgenic Arabidopsis plants expressing date palm HSP genes maintained higher photosynthetic efficiency under heat stress compared to non-transgenic plants, indicating enhanced thermotolerance.

Conclusion: These findings suggest that the introduced HSP genes play a critical role in enabling transgenic Arabidopsis to maintain the photosynthetic efficiency under heat stress, supporting the hypothesis that these genes contribute to thermotolerance in plants.