Effects of the Applications of Clay Minerals on the Early Growth of Red Pepper in Growing Medium

As the advanced seeding technology through use of plug tray for good cultivation of seeds was propagated along with the expansion and development of horticultural industry, the use of bed soils as growing medium has recently been increased. In this study, the effects of the four clay minerals such as illite, phyllite, zeolite, and bentonite on the early growth of red pepper in the bed soil were investigated. Furthermore, proteome analysis for the leaf and stem samples of red pepper treated with only illite was performed. Of the seedling cultured, the healthy and regular size seeds were selected and cultivated in the pots, after they were treated with four clay minerals. The experiment was performed during the whole six weeks in the glasshouse of the Chungbuk National University. The growth lengths, fresh and dry weights of red pepper were significantly higher in the treatments of illite, phyllite, zeolite, and bentonite than in the control. In addition, the uptake of K+, Ca²+, and Mg²+ were higher in the treatment of illite, phyllite, zeolite, and bentonite than in the control. The 2-DE patterns for the red pepper by the applications of illite, phyllite, zeolite, and bentonite were similar to each other. Therefore, compared to the samples of control, the proteome analysis for the samples of red pepper treated by only illite were performed. Proteome analysis for red pepper showed that plastid fructose-1, 6-bisphosphate aldolase class 1, aldolase, and glyceraldehydes 3-phosphate dehydrogenase, all of which were involved in the energy metabolism, were highly expressed in leaf tissue by illite treatment. In stem tissue, NAD-dependent formate dehydrogenase involved in energy metabolism, potassium transport protein, and GIA/RGA-like gibberellins response modulator were highly expressed. Based on the results obtained from the proteome analysis, it appears that the proteins specifically and differentially expressed on the illite treatment may be involved in the enhanced growth of red pepper. The identification of some proteins involved in the response of vegetable crops to the treatment of clay mineral can provide new insights that can lead to a better elucidation and understanding of mechanism on their molecular basis.