Rice Proteomics: A Step Toward Functional Analysis of Stress Responses

Plants need to perceive and process information both from the biotic and abiotic surroundings for their optimum growth and development. Because plants are not motile, they have to be especially responsive to environmental changes, including stress conditions. Subjecting rice seedlings to environmental stresses results in various biochemical changes, many of which are poorly understood. Proteomics approaches to identifying proteins that are regulated in response to different environmental conditions are becoming common in the post-genomic era in rice research. This review describes initial steps toward determining the physiological significance of some proteins identified from rice.