Transient expression of multiple genes in salinity-stressed young seedlings of rice (Oryza sativa L.) cv. bura rata.

To date only about 15 abundantly expressed osmoresponsive genes/proteins have been described in rice cultivars. Using in vivo radiolabeling followed by two-dimensional electrophoresis and autoradiography, a record number of at least 35 salinity stress-induced polypeptides (14-90 kDa) and 17 salt stress-repressed polypeptides were detected in a halotolerant Indica rice cultivar Bura Rata. These include > 20 hitherto unreported rice polypeptides that exhibited a low abundance, short-term expression during NaCl stress. Prolonged exposure to NaCl decreased their synthesis. These findings have widened the scope of further investigations into new osmoresponsive genes, especially those with possibly transient regulatory functions in rice halotolerance.