Adaptation of Catharanthus roseus to heavy metal stress by altering total protein content

Abstract

The emission of pollutants into the environment is rampant due to rapid industrialization. Being immobile, plants are routinely confronted by a wide array of abiotic stresses including heavy metals. Plants growing in industrial areas are exposed to several heavy metals. These metals are thought to obstruct the biological functions of a protein by altering the native conformation. To study the effects of heavy metals on the plant protein content, the present study incorporated Catharanthus roseus as a plant of interest.

The primary objective of the study was to estimate the total protein content from these plants grown in varied industrially contaminated soils. The protein content was estimated by UV-Vis spectrophotometric technique using the conventional Lowry’s method. Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) was used as standard reagent against which unknown plant protein concentration was estimated. The results showed that plants grown in soil with highest metal concentration also had highest protein content, while plants grown in soil with least metal concentrations expressed lowest protein content. By analysing the alterations of total proteins in plants grown under metal stress, several biotechnological strategies can be devised for improving the tolerance of plants to heavy metals. Also, further studies involving biochemical and -omics analyses can provide in-depth study which will be necessary to exploit the great potential of the stress-responsive proteins.