Abstract
A cold-regulated wheat cDNA, WCSP1, was identified and found to contain an N-terminal cold shock domain (CSD) with two consensus RNA binding motifs, and a glycine-rich region which is interspersed with three C-terminal Cys-X2-Cys-X4-His-X4-Cys (CCHC) zinc fingers (J.Biol.Chem 277,35248). RNA and protein blot analyses showed that WCSP1 mRNA and protein levels steadily increased during cold acclimation, respectively. WCSP1 induction was cold-specific, because neither abscisic acid treatment, drought, salinity nor heat stress induced WCSP1 expression. Nucleotide binding assays determined that WCSP1 binds ssDNA, dsDNA, and RNA homopolymers. Structural and expression similarities to E. coli CspA suggest that WCSP1 may be involved in gene regulation during cold acclimation. EST database searching revealed that the CSD occurs widespread among diverse plant genera and is highly conserved (Plant Physiol. 131, in press). A complete CSD protein family of Arabidopsis was found to display a differential response to low temperature treatments.
