A comparative proteome approach to decipher the mechanism of rice adaptation to phosphorous deficiency

Mineral deficiency limits crop production in most soils and in Asia alone, about 50% of rice lands are phosphorous deficient. In an attempt to determine the mechanism of rice adaptation to phosphorous deficiency, changes in proteome patterns associated with phosphorous deficiency have been investigated. We analyzed the parental line Nipponbare in comparison to its near iso- genic line (NIL6-4) carrying a major phosphorous uptake QTL (Pup1) on chromosome 12. Using 2-DE, the proteome pattern of roots grown under 1 and 100 μM phosphorous were compared. Out of 669 proteins reproducibly detected on root 2-DE gels, 32 proteins showed significant changes in the two genotypes. Of them, 17 proteins showed different responses in two genotypes under stress condition. MS resulted in identification of 26 proteins involved in major phosphorous deficiency adaptation pathways including reactive oxygen scavenging, citric acid cycle, signal transduction, and plant defense responses as well as proteins with unknown function. Our results highlighted a coordinated response in NIL in response to phosphorous deficiency which may confer higher adaptation to nutrient deficiency.