Changes in the Arabidopsis RNA-binding proteome reveal novel stress response mechanisms

BACKGROUND:RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) are increasingly recognized as regulatory component of post-transcriptional gene expression. RBPs interact with mRNAs via RNA-binding domains and these interactions affect RNA availability for translation, RNA stability and turn-over thus affecting both RNA and protein expression essential for developmental and stimulus specific responses. Here we investigate the effect of severe drought stress on the RNA-binding proteome to gain insights into the mechanisms that govern drought stress responses at the systems level. RESULTS:Label-free mass spectrometry enabled the identification 567 proteins of which 150 significantly responded to the drought-induced treatment. A gene ontology analysis revealed enrichment in the