Proteomic alterations in various plant tissues of maize under induced chromium stress

Heavy metal contamination is becoming a major cause of pollution in the environment, impacting humans, animals, and plants directly. Because of its widespread use in the tanning industry, chromium (Cr) regarded as a highly dangerous environmental toxin. The goal of this study was to investigate growth and proteins changes in different plant tissues (leaves, shoots, and seeds) of two maize cultivars (NMH-360 and DKC 61-42) under the stress of Cr (0, 50, and 150 ppm Cr). Sodium dodecyl polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) was used to observe plant proteome modification in response to Cr stress. Results revealed that at 150 ppm, both maize cultivars showed a decrease in plant growth attributes. Furthermore, it was noticed that the plant proteome changed in response to Cr stress in leaf and shoot tissues. A few proteins were up-regulated (70 kDa in C1 variety), while others were down-regulated (154, 140, 115, 80, 70 and 53 kDa in C1 cultivar shoots while 154, 65, 60, 17 kDa bands in shoots of C2 cultivar). Some protein bands were induced at 50 ppm, some at 150 ppm, and yet others at both concentrations. The findings of this study could aid in the selection of Cr-tolerant plant cultivars as well as the design of new protein biomarkers that can be utilized as a monitoring tool in heavy metal stress responses.