Abstract: In order to explore the cadmium (Cd)-tolerance mechanism of rice (Oryza sativa), a hydroponic experiment with Cd-tolerant rice cultivar PI312777 and Cd-sensitive rice cultivar IR24 was conducted. The cultivars were treated with 0 (control), 50, and 100 μmol·L^-1 of Cd²⁺ for 7 days, and the differential expression of proteins in their leaves were analyzed by two-dimensional electrophoresis and MALDI-TOF/MS approach. Under Cd stress, 31 protein spots in PI312777 leaves and 19 protein spots in IR24 leaves had significantly different expression, compared with the control. In PI312777 leaves, the 24 of 31 proteins had 4 proteins related to photosynthesis, 11 proteins related to cell metabolism and defense, 3 proteins related to other metabolism pathway, and 2 proteins were unknown proteins; in IR24 leaves, the 15 of 19 proteins were identified. Under Cd- stress, the heat shock protein, glutathione-diulfide reductase, poteasome subunit alpha type-6, 1,6-bisphosphate aldolase, thioredoxin, and DNA repair-recombination protein in PI312777 leaves were up-regulated expressed, while these proteins in IR24 were not significantly changed except the down-regulation of 1,6-bisphosphate aldolase and thioredoxin. The higher Cd-tolerance of PI312777 could have close relations with the differentially expressed proteins.

Key words: Oryza sativa, cadmium, proteomics, stress response, two-dimensional electrophoresis