Cold Acclimation and Alterations in Dehydrin-like and Bark Storage Proteins in the Leaves of Sibling Deciduous and Evergreen Peach

Seasonal changes in cold tolerance and proteins were studied in the leaves of sibling deciduous and evergreen peach [ Prunus persica (L.) Batsch]. Freezing tolerance [defined as the subzero temperature at which 50% injury occurred (LT 50 )] was assessed using electrolyte leakage. Proteins were separated by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis. Electroblots were probed with anti-dehydrin and anti-19-kD peach bark storage protein (BSP) antibodies. Leaf LT 50 decreased successively from -5.8 °C on 18 Aug. to -10.3 °C in the evergreen genotype and from -7.0 °C to -15.0 °C in the deciduous genotype by 14 Oct. Protein profiles and immunoblots indicated the accumulation of a 60- and 30-kD protein during cold acclimation in the leaves of deciduous trees; however, levels of these proteins did not change significantly in the evergreen trees. Immunoblots indicate that the 60-kD protein is a dehydrin-like protein. Gel-electrophoresis and immunoblots also indicated that the 19-kD BSP progressively disappeared from summer through fall in leaves of deciduous peach but accumulated to a high level in bark tissues. A similar inverse relationship was not evident in evergreen peach.