Proteome analysis of the susceptible barley - Cochliobolus sativus interaction

Abstract

A proteomic analysis was conducted to map up events set off during the initial stages of interaction between the fungal pathogen Cochliobolus sativus and the susceptible barley cultivar WI2291. Two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis experiments were carried to detect proteins differentially expressed under inoculated and non-inoculated conditions. Twenty-seven out of 100 protein spots were consistently observed as differential in the proteome profiles of the studied treatments. After tryptic digestion, MALDI-TOF/MS analysis and MASCOT database searching identified proteins with presumed functions relating to signal transduction, proteins involved in energy metabolism, secondary metabolism and protein synthesis. However, expression of genes involved in protection against cell damage was not detected, indicating that there may be a higher degradation of cellular components in the susceptible genotype. Proteomic results from this study indicate a complex response of susceptible barley genotype to challenge by C. sativus that involves simultaneous induction of proteins in the interaction system.