Physiological evaluation of the responses of Larix olgensis families to drought stress and proteomic analysis of the superior family.

The conifer Larix olgensis has been analyzed to delineate physiological and proteomic changes that occur under drought stress. Studies of the deleterious effects of drought in the larch families have mainly focused on photosynthesis. In the present study, when the intensity of drought was increased, plant height was inhibited as both POD and MDA levels increased, which indicates oxidative stress. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis analysis detected 23 significantly differentially expressed proteins, of which 18 were analyzed by peptide mass fingerprinting by using MALDI-TOF/TOF. Eight spots were found to be up-regulated, while the other 10 spots were down-regulated during drought stress. The proteins that were induced by drought treatment have been implicated in the physiological changes that occurred. These results could provide additional information that could lead to a better understanding of the molecular basis of drought-sensitivity in larch plants.