Saccharomyces cerevisiae Hsp30 is Necessary for Homeostasis of a Set of Thermal Stress Response Functions

Saccharomyces cerevisiae Hsp30 is a plasma membrane heat shock protein that is induced by various environmental stress conditions. However, the functional role of Hsp30 during diverse environmental stressors is not presently known. To gain insight into its function during thermal stress, we have constructed and characterized a ${\Delta}hsp30$ strain during heat stress. $BY4741{\Delta}hsp30$ cells were found to be more sensitive compared with BY4741 cells, when exposed to a lethal heat stress at $50^{\circ}C$. When budding yeast is exposed to either heat shock or weak organic acid, it inhibits Pma1p activity. In this study, we measured the levels of Pma1p in mutant and Wt cells both during optimal temperature and heat shock temperature. We observed that $BY4741{\Delta}hsp30$ cells showed constitutive reduction of Pma1p. To gain further insights into the role of Hsp30 during heat stress, we compared the total protein profile by 2D gel electrophoresis followed by identification of differentially expressed spots by LC-MS. We observed that contrary to that expected from thermal-stress-induced changes in gene expression, the ${\Delta}hsp30$ mutant maintained elevated levels of Pdc1p, Trx1p, and Nbp35p and reduced levels of Atp2p and Sod1p during heat shock. In conclusion, Hsp30 is necessary during lethal heat stress, for the maintenance of Pma1p and a set of thermal stress response functions.