TRANSACTIONS OF THE INSTITUTE OF MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGIES
Institute of Molecular Biology, Ministry of Science and Education of the Republic of Azerbaijan
TRANSACTIONS OF THE INSTITUTE OF MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGIES
Institute of Molecular Biology, Ministry of Science and Education of the Republic of Azerbaijan
Institute of Molecular Biology, Ministry of Science and Education of the Republic of Azerbaijan, 11 Izzat Nabiyev Str., AZ1073, Baku, Azerbaijan
*For correspondence: i.huseynova@imbb.science.az
Saida Zulfugarova: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1772-8327 Samira Rustamova: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5337-7109 Irada Huseynova: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9766-9381
Heat stress is one of the major environmental factors limiting wheat productivity under changing climatic conditions. In this study, the expression patterns of HSP17.3, WRKY14, and WRKY36 genes were analyzed in four bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) genotypes differing in heat tolerance. Two heat-tolerant genotypes, Murov 2 and Zirva 85, and two heat-sensitive genotypes, Aran and Gyzyl bugda, were exposed to heat stress, and relative transcript levels were determined using quantitative real-time PCR. Heat treatment induced clear genotype-dependent changes in the expression of all three genes. The tolerant genotypes showed markedly higher transcript accumulation than the sensitive ones. HSP17.3 was strongly upregulated in Zirva 85 and Murov 2, indicating an active chaperone-mediated protective response under elevated temperature. Among the studied genes, WRKY36 showed the most pronounced induction, reaching approximately a 30-fold increase in Murov 2. WRKY14 also exhibited stronger expression in tolerant genotypes compared with sensitive genotypes. The concurrent upregulation of HSP17.3, WRKY14, and WRKY36 in heat-tolerant wheat genotypes suggests that these genes are involved in molecular mechanisms contributing to thermotolerance. The obtained results indicate that these genes may be considered promising candidate markers for evaluating heat stress tolerance in bread wheat breeding programs.
---
This study did not involve human participants or animals. Therefore, ethical approval was not required.
This research received no external funding.
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Cheng Z., Duan Y., Cao J., Chen J., Peng H., Liu J., Li Y., Zhou S., Zeng H., He Y., Chen J. (2021) The role of WRKY transcription factors in plant abiotic stress responses. Plant Cell Reports, 40: 1983–1996.
El-Shehawi A.M., Alotaibi S.S., Elseehy M.M. (2020) Heat shock proteins expression is regulated by promoter CpG methylation/demethylation under heat stress in wheat varieties. Pakistan Journal of Biological Sciences, 23: 1310–1320.
FAO (2023) The State of Food and Agriculture 2023.
Garg D., Sareen S., Dalal S., Tiwari R., Singh R. (2012) Heat shock protein-based SNP marker for terminal heat stress in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Australian Journal of Crop Science, 6: 1516–1521.
Hasanuzzaman M., Bhuyan M.H.M.B., Zulfiqar F., Raza A., Mohsin S.M., Mahmud J.A., Fujita M., Fotopoulos V. (2020) Heat stress tolerance in plants: An overview. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 21: 1910.
He G.H., Xu J.Y., Wang Y.X., Liu J.M., Li P.S., Chen M. (2016) Drought-responsive WRKY transcription factor genes TaWRKY1 and TaWRKY33 from wheat confer drought and/or heat resistance in Arabidopsis. BMC Plant Biology, 16: 116.
IPCC (2023) Climate Change 2023: Synthesis Report.
Isgandarova T.Y., Rustamova S.M., Aliyeva D.R., Rzayev F.H., Gasimov E.K., Huseynova I.M. (2024) Antioxidant and ultrastructural alterations in wheat during drought-induced leaf senescence. Agronomy, 14: 2924.
Isgandarova T.Y., Rustamova S.M., Allahverdiyev T.I., Huseynova I.M. (2024) Proline accumulation and WRKY14/WRKY36 gene expression dynamics during drought-induced flag leaf senescence. Journal of Life Sciences and Biomedicine, 14: 45–56.
Jagadish S.V.K., Murty M.V.R., Quick W.P. (2021) Rice responses to rising temperatures. Journal of Experimental Botany, 72: 5143–5162.
Kang Y., Khan S., Ma X. (2022) Molecular bases of heat stress responses in plants. Frontiers in Plant Science, 13: 837152.
Khokhlova L.P., Valiullina R.N., Mider D.R., Akberova N.I. (2015) Membrane thermostability and expression of small heat shock protein genes under high temperature and water deficit. Biol. Membr., 32: 59–71.
Kumar A., Sharma S., Chunduri V., Kaur A., Kaur S., Malhotra N. et al. (2020) Genome-wide identification and characterization of heat shock protein family reveal roles in development and stress conditions in wheat. Scientific Reports, 10: 7858.
Li S., Khoso M.A., Xu H., Zhang C., Liu Z., Wagan S., Dinislam K., Liu L. (2024) WRKY transcription factors as key regulators of plant resilience to environmental stresses: Current perspective. Agronomy, 14: 2421.
Livak K.J., Schmittgen T.D. (2001) Analysis of relative gene expression data using real-time quantitative PCR and the 2 −ΔΔCT method. Methods, 25: 402–408.
Ma Z., Hu L. (2024) WRKY transcription factor responses and tolerance to abiotic stress in plants. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 25: 6845.
Mahajan S., Thakur P., Das S., Sharma R.P., Manuja S., Jha P.K., Fayezizadeh M.R. (2025) Impression of contemporary heat stress complexities in agricultural crops: A review. Plant Growth Regulation, 105: 1805–1823.
Mittler R., Finka A., Goloubinoff P. (2017) How do plants feel the heat? Plant Physiology, 173: 3–14.
Ohama N., Sato H., Shinozaki K., Yamaguchi-Shinozaki K. (2017) Transcriptional regulatory network of heat stress response in plants. Trends in Plant Science, 22: 53–65.
Peters C., Haslbeck M. (2024) Catchers of folding gone awry: A tale of small heat shock proteins. Trends in Biochemical Sciences, 49: 989–1002.
Rustamova S.M., Shrestha A., Naz A.A., Huseynova I.M. (2021) Expression profiling of DREB1 and evaluation of vegetation indices in contrasting wheat genotypes exposed to drought stress. Plant Gene, 25: 100266.
Rustamova S.M., Suleymanova Z.J., Isgandarova T.Y., Zulfugarova S.T., Mammadov A.C., Huseynova I.M. (2019) Identification of stress responsive genes by using molecular markers to develop tolerance in wheat. In: Wheat Production in Changing Environments: Responses, Adaptation and Tolerance, pp. 421–442.
Sankar M.S., Satyavathi C.T., Barthakur S., Singh S.P., Bharadwaj C., Soumya S.L. (2021) Differential modulation of heat-inducible genes across diverse genotypes and molecular cloning of a small heat shock protein from pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum). Frontiers in Plant Science, 12: 659893.
Temel A., Janack B., Humbeck K. (2017) Drought stress-related physiological changes and histone modifications in barley primary leaves at the HSP17 gene. Agronomy, 7: 43.
van Montfort R.L.M., Slingsby C., Vierling E. (2001) Structure and function of the small heat shock protein/α-crystallin family of molecular chaperones. Advances in Protein Chemistry, 59: 105–156.
Waters E.R., Vierling E. (2020) Plant small heat shock proteins. Annual Review of Plant Biology, 71: 539–564.
Yadav M.R., Choudhary M., Singh J., Lal M.K., Jha P.K., Udawat P. et al. (2022) Impacts, tolerance, adaptation, and mitigation of heat stress on wheat under changing climates. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 23: 2838.
Zhang X.Y., Wang Y., Li J. et al. (2025) WRKY transcription factors participate in abiotic stress responses by regulating sugar metabolic pathways. Frontiers in Plant Science, 16: 1646357.
Zhao C., Liu B., Piao S., Wang X., Lobell D.B., Huang Y. et al. (2017) Temperature increase reduces global yields of major crops in four independent estimates. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, 114: 9326–9331.
Zheng Y., Cai Z., Wang Z., Maruza T.M., Zhang G. (2025) The genetics and breeding of heat stress tolerance in wheat: Advances and prospects. Plants, 14: 148.
Zulfugarova S.T., Rustamova S.M., Pashayeva A.N., Rzayev F.H., Gasimov E.K., Huseynova I.M. (2026) Integrated assessment of physiological, molecular and ultrastructural responses to heat stress in wheat. Plants, 15: 1896.
Received: February 25, 2026; Reviewed: April 08, 2026; Accepted: May 29, 2026
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.62088/timbb/10.1.9Keywords:
Triticum aestivum L., heat stress, HSP17.3, WRKY14, WRKY36, thermotolerance, qRT-PCR
Zulfugarova S., Rustamova S., Huseynova I. (2026). Expression analysis of HSP17.3, WRKY14, and WRKY36 genes in bread wheat genotypes under heat stress. TIMBB, 10 (1), 87-93.