Effect of salinity stress on the root proteome pattern of spring bread wheat

In this experiment, the effect of salt stress on the root proteome pattern of Arg (tolerant to salinity) and Moghan3 (sensitive to salinity) cultivars of wheat was investigated by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Salinity was applied at two levels of 0 and 150 mM in the third-leaf stage for three weeks under greenhouse conditions. The proteome analysis of the roots revealed 120 reproducible protein spots, among which 15 spots showed significant changes in expression. In Moghan3, four protein spots with a significant reduction in expression were identified. In the tolerant cultivar of Arg, 11 protein spots showed significant changes in expression, among which five protein spots had an increased expression and six protein spots had a decreased expression. These proteins were classified based on their function into several groups such as the proteins involved in metabolism and energy, reactive oxygen species scavenging and detoxification, the proteins associated with cell walls, and the proteins involved in folding and degradation. Probably, the tolerance to salt stress in the Arg cultivar was related to the increased expression of pyruvate dehydrogenase, phosphoglycerate mutase, catalase, and malate dehydrogenase proteins. While in the sensitive variety of Moghan3, the decrease in the expression of enolase, peroxidase, and glutathione peroxidase proteins under salinity stress conditions probably caused oxidative stress in the plants due to increased production of reactive oxygen species. These findings can be useful for improving the salt tolerance in the breeding programs of wheat.