Two-Dimensional Liquid Chromatography Technique Coupled with Mass Spectrometry Analysis to Compare the Proteomic Response to Cadmium Stress in Plants

Plants are useful in studies of metal toxicity, because their physiological responses to different metals are correlated with the metal exposure dose and chemical state. Moreover a network of proteins and biochemical cascades that may lead to a controlled homeostasis of metals has been identified in many plant species. This paper focuses on the global protein variations that occur in a Populus nigra spp. clone (Poli) that has an exceptional tolerance to the presence of cadmium. Protein separation was based on a two-dimensional liquid chromatography technique. A subset of 20 out of 126 peaks were identified as being regulated differently under cadmium stress and were fingerprinted by MALDI-TOF. Proteins that were more abundant in the treated samples were located in the chloroplast and in the mitochondrion, suggesting the importance of these organelles in the response and adaptation to metal stress.