Proteomic identification of differentially expressed proteins in the anoxic rice coleoptile

Rice is the staple food for more than fifty percent of the world's population, and is therefore an important crop. However, its production is hindered by several biotic and abiotic stresses. Although rice is the only crop that can germinate even in the complete absence of oxygen (i.e. anoxia), flooding (low oxygen) is one of the major causes of reduced rice production. Rice germination under anoxia is characterized by the elongation of the coleoptile, but leaf growth is hampered. In this work, a comparative proteomic approach was used to detect and identify differentially expressed proteins in the anoxic rice coleoptile compared to the aerobic coleoptile. Thirty-one spots were successfully identified by MALDI-TOF MS analysis. The majority of the identified proteins were related to stress responses and redox metabolism. The expression levels of twenty-three proteins and their respective mRNAs were analyzed in a time course experiment.