Proteomic approach for investigation of cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) in Brassica

The alloplasmic ‘Tournefortii’ CMS system from B. napus was chosen for a comprehensive investigation of the protein content of the mitochondrial compartment in male sterile and fertile near isogenic lines. As proteins involved in the male sterile phenotype may be expressed in a tissue-specific manner, mitochondrial preparations were made from different tissues and checked for the purity of the organelles with a new and highly sensitive method (BN-PAGE). In Brassica, only mitochondrial preparations from 4-5-day-old seedlings and from flower buds were found to be sufficiently pure. High resolution, two-dimensional gel electrophoresis of total protein from anthers and from mitochondrial protein of male sterile and fertile seedlings of near isogenic lines revealed distinct differences in the protein patterns. Several explanations for the occurrence of these differences, which may be the starting point for a detailed molecular analysis and a better understanding of the CMS syndrome, are discussed.