Proteomic response of Tartary buckwheat under mercury-induced stress

Abstract

Abstract Mercury (Hg) is severe toxic pollutants that pose a threat to the environment. Its accumulation alters various metabolic pathways by inducing oxidative stress and ultimately affects yield. Present study was conducted to explore how tartary buckwheat modulates its proteome and biomarkers in response to Hg stress. Plants were exposed to Hg (75µM) exposure for 15 days. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DGE) was used for resolving leaf proteome and differential protein expression was studied using PDQuest software. Results showed that hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) exhibited a concomitant increase under Hg-induced oxidative stress. Proteomic analysis showed that about 213 protein spots were reproducibly detected in control and 174 protein spots were differentially expressed under Hg stress, among which 12 were up-regulated and 19 were down-regulated. The differential protein expression suggests that tartary buckwheat modulates its leaf proteome subjected to Hg which might be an adaptive response mechanism by plants to Hg stress.