Analysis of differential protein expression during the early stage of in vitro tuberization in taro

Tuberization is a complex and multilevel developmental process. Many important metabolic changes in the early stage of tuberization are crucial to the tuber differentiation and development. In this study, we attempted to identify proteins differentially expressed in the early stage of in vitro tuberization in taro (Colocasia esculenta var. antiquorum) by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2-DE) and mass spectrometry (MS). Protein samples from shoot tips cultured in 8% sucrose media at 0, 2, 4, 6 and 8 d were separated with 2-DE. A total of 13 differentially expressed proteins were analyzed with MS. Four proteins via, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, alcohol dehydrogenase, chloroplast protein synthesis elongation factor (EF-Tu), and ankyrin repeat protein HBP1 were successfully identified during in vitro tuberization of taro. This implies that important metabolic changes, including sucrose metabolism, signal transduction and cell defense, occurred in the early stage of in vitro tuberization in taro.

► 2-DE and MS were used to separate and identify proteins differentially expressed in the early stage of in vitro tuberization in taro.
► 4 differentially expressed proteins were identified.
► Functional analysis of differential proteins provided new insights to understanding the mechanisms of the corms formation.