Proteomic analysis of sugar beet apomictic monosomic addition line M14

Apomixis in plants holds great promise for agriculture because of its vigor associated with heterozygosity and superior genotype. Despite the significance of apomictic reproductive process, our knowledge of proteins and their functions in apomictic development is limited. Here we report a comparative proteomic and transcriptomic analysis of sexual and apomictic processes in sugar beet. A total of 71 differentially expressed protein spots were successfully identified in the course of apomictic reproductive development using high-resolution 2-DE and MS analysis. The differentially expressed proteins were involved in several processes that might work cooperatively to lead to apomictic reproduction. This study has generated potential protein markers important for apomictic development.