Comparative transcriptome analysis for understanding of responses to heat stress in pepper (Capsicum annuum L.)

17CL30 and 05S180 are two closely related pepper cultivars, however, their heat resistant ability is different (17CL30 is much more heat tolerant than 05S180). To investigate the mechanisms related to heat stress, we studied the transcriptomes of 17CL30 and 05S180 leaf samples treated with heat stress (40 ?). We found that the changes in numerous genes emphasize the complex response mechanisms involved in heat stress in pepper. Notably, though, for most common heat-responsive genes, the expression changes were typically much more significantly in 17CL30 than in 05S180, which may help to explain the reason for more heat-tolerant of 17CL30.