Isolation and identification of drought stress-related proteins expressed in rye leaves using proteome analysis

The present study investigated rye leaf proteomes in response to drought stress. Rye seedlings were exposed to drought conditions via water withholding and samples were collected seven days after treatment. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis coupled with mass spectrometry (MS) was used to identify drought-responsive proteins in rye leaves. Twenty-five spots changed their expression levels under drought conditions and 16 proteins were identified by peptide mass fingerprinting using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS). These proteins were classified into several categories including defense, metabolism, signal transduction, energy and protein synthesis. The investigation of rye leaf proteome expression and its identification against drought stress could be useful in better understanding molecular drought stress responses in plants.