Analysis of stress proteins at four different developmental stages in field-grown rice (cultivar Pusa 169) plants

Abstract

Grain yield in rice plant is adversely affected due to salinity, water stress, and low and high temperature stresses. These stress conditions affect the rice plants differentially at their different developmental stages. We have analysed alterations at cellular level of the various stress-associated proteins at four developmental stages in a high-yielding rice (cv. Pusa 169). These growth stages corresponded to 30-day-old (vegetative stage), 55-day-old (maximum tiHering stage), 90-day - old (boat-leaf stage), and 110-day -old (seed-setting stage) plants. The sum total of polypeptide alterations was found to be different at the various growth stages analysed. While the alterations in the levels of some proteins were found to be common at the different stages (such as those with molecular weights of 30, 22.5, 22 kDa in response to salinity; 62, 60, 18.2 kDa in response to desiccation and 87 and 20 kDa in response to high temperature}, alterations in levels of some other proteins showed growth stage-dependent difference. Elucidation of the precise identity of these proteins would possibly yield useful information on the response of rice plants to different abiotic stresses.