Goals

1. Resolve hundreds of proteins from whole developing seeds of Arabidopsis, oilseed rape, soybean and castor using advanced protein separation methods including preparative IEF, two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and liquid chromatography methods.
2. Quantify and profile protein expression (from 2-D gels) at five key stages of seed development.
3. Establish two-dimensional gel reference maps (at mid-development) and identify all proteins on these maps.
4. Isolate integral membrane proteins from whole seeds and profile expression during seed development.
5. Use Isotope Coded Affinity Tag (ICAT) approach for protein expression profiling Arabidopsis seed development and compare these data with results from 2-D gels. Determine the utility of this approach for other plants in this investigation.
6. Create a web-based database displaying proteome reference maps for four oilseeds with links to identified proteins and developmental expression profiles.