Abstract

Chinese kale (Brassica alboglabra) is a famous and extensively grown vegetable in Southeast Asia. Despite its nutritional values, pesticides are heavily applied to it. In this study, changes in protein expression due to alachlor treatment on B. alboglabrawere investigated by using the 2-dimensional PAGE. Differential protein expressions were determined by using Image Master Software with volume (%) ≥2 fold as significant. Ten spots of interest have been identified by LC/MS/MS showing significant increases in differential protein expression between B. alboglabra roots treated with alachlor as compared to the untreated group which include HSC-cognate binding proteins, adenosylmethionine synthetase and beta-tubulin involved in defence mechanism in plants. Little is known about the function of other proteins identified which include knox-like proteins and hypothetical protein. Further investigations on plant proteomics would provide more information on the effects of different types of pesticides.

Key words: Brassica alboglabra, pesticides, proteomics, two-dimensional electrophoresis.

Abbreviation

2 DE, Two-dimensional electrophoresis; PAGE, polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis; LC/MS, liquid chromatography mass spectrometry; HPLC, high performance liquid chromatography.