Patterns of protein expression in wheat under stress conditions and its identification by proteomics tools

Wheat, cereal grasses of the genus Triticum (family Poaceae), and edible grains, is one of the most ancient and essential grain crops. Stress conditions such as diseases, insects, and other pests, also known as biotic factors, and abiotic stress are caused by environmental conditions such as cold, heat, salt, and drought in agricultural plants. This chapter provides information on wheat species such as Excalibur, Kaunz, and RAC875 which have been studied for the effect of stress conditions on the proteins, namely, type II metacaspase, WD40 repeat protein, WCSP1 (cold shock protein 1), showing a significant effect on the carbohydrate metabolism, photosynthesis mechanism, and calcium metabolism in wheat plants. The change in the types of proteins expressed normally or under the stress condition is identified using the proteomics. Proteomics proved to be a useful method for gaining a deep knowledge of the events at the molecular level that occurs during grain formation. To describe and identify proteins, a proteomic investigation entails utilization of high-resolution 2-DE coupled with microanalytical techniques and bioinformatics. MALDI in combination with time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOF-MS) made it possible to examine complex mixtures of massive, thermally labile, nonvolatile biopolymers such as peptides, proteins, and oligonucleotides with molecular masses up to several hundred kilodaltons.