Morpho-physiological and Proteome Level Responses of Brassica napus L. Leaves to Cadmium Stress

Among the abiotic stresses, heavy metals such as cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), Zinc (Zn), Lead (Pb) and mercury (Hg) are thought to be the most hazardous pollutants. Cadmium (Cd) is one of the common abiotic stresses, particularly in places contaminated with heavy metals. Cd is a highly toxic heavy metal and a widespread environmental pollutant. Generally, Brassica species are tolerant to heavy metals due to their fast growth, high biomass production, and ability to uptake greater amount of heavy metals. Proteomics is acknowledged as an efficient approach to dissect the plant s response mechanisms to abiotic stress, including toxic metals. Here, we investigated the effects of Cd stress on morpho-physiological and proteome of Brassica napus using a label-free shotgun proteomic approach to elucidate plant response mechanisms to Cd toxicity