Kinetic changes in protein synthesis in response to a sublethal heat shock in starved Tetrahymena thermophila.

We have analyzed the alterations that occur in the patterns of protein synthesis of Tetrahymena thermophila cells when these cells are exposed to a sublethal heat treatment. At least 11 major polypeptides, ranging in size from 97,000 to 27,000 daltons, are produced when the incubation temperature of Tetrahymena cultures is raised from 29 to 41 degrees C. The kinetics of appearance and disappearance appears to differ for each one of these heat-induced polypeptides, suggesting that elaborate mechanisms might operate in the regulation of the expression of this group of genes.