Proteomic Analysis of the Cyanobacterium Synechococcus cedrorum IU 1191 Under Short Term NaCl Exposure

The aim of this study is to identify proteins generated through two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) of the cyanobacterium Synechococcus cedrorum 1191 under short term NaCl stress. The 2-DE images of the control and salt-treated cells were compared in terms of differentially expressed proteins (>1.5 fold regulation). This comparison leads to the conclusion that proteins involved in cellular processes, amino acid biosynthesis, photosynthesis and respiration and central mediatory metabolism were differentially expressed. Further, the proteins of different functional groups were independently expressed in control as well as in salt treated cells. It appears that salt stress results in suppression of certain proteins and induction of various salt specific proteins. This study also shows that short term NaCl stress has no major impact on plasma membrane proteins, while cytoplasmic proteins are affected by the stress.