31 Journal of Cell and Molecular Biology 4 : 31-39, 2005. Haliç University, Printed in Turkey. M e t a b o l i c c h a n g e s a n d p r o t e i n p a t t e r n s a s s o c i a t e d w i t h a d a p t a t i o n t o s a l i n i t y i n S e s a m u m i n d i c u m c u l t i v a r s Hukam S. Gehlot 1 *, Anila Purohit 1 and Narpat S. Shekhawat 2 1 Stress Physiology Laboratory, Dept. of Botany, J. N. Vyas University, Jodhpur-342001, India; 2 Biotechnology Unit, Department of Botany, JNV University, Jodhpur- 342 001, India (*author for correspondence) A b s t r a c t Sesamum indicum is an important oil seed crop of semi-arid regions. Recently released cultivars of S. indicum were evaluated for their relative tolerance to sodium chloride (NaCl) salt. Salinity induced alterations in electrophoretic patterns of proteins and other metabolites were recorded in seeds germinated and grown in presence of different concentrations of sodium chloride (0, 30, 50 and 70mM). Seedling growth was retarded in cv. RT-125 in presence of NaCl more than 30mM concentration. Control seedlings of cv. RT-46, RT-54 and RT-127 showed higher levels of total soluble sugars and sucrose as compared to cv. RT-125. Proline contents of control seedlings of cv. RT-127 was low as compared to other cultivars. Levels of soluble proteins were higher in RT-125 and RT-127 than in RT-46 and RT-54 under all experimental conditions. However levels of sugars were higher in salt-treated cvs.RT-127, RT-46 and RT-54 as compared to RT-125. Salt sensitive cultivar (RT-125), accumulated higher contents of malondialdehyde (MDA) and proline as compared to the others. On the other hand salt tolerant cultivars RT-54, RT-46 and RT-127 showed higher activity of superoxide-dismutase (SOD) and low MDA content as compared to RT-125. K e y w o r d s : Malondialdehyde, superoxide-dismutase, salinity, protein profiles, Sesamum indicum. S a s e m u m i n d i c u m k ü l t ü r l e r i n d e t u z l u l u ¤ a a d a p t a s y o n l a i l i fl k i l i p r o t e i n p r o f i l l e r i v e m e t a b o l i k d e ¤ i fl m e l e r Ö z e t Sesamum inducum, yar› kurak bölgelerin önemli ya¤l› tohumlu bitkisidir. Son y›llarda, S. indicum kültürlerinin sodyum klorür (NaCI) tuzuna olan nispi frekanslar› de¤erlendirildi. Proteinlerin ve di¤er metabolitlerin elektroforetik profillerinde tuzlulu¤un uyard›¤› de¤ifliklikler sodyum klorürün farkl› konsantrasyonlar›nda çimlenen ve büyüyen tohumlar›nda kaydedildi (0,30, 50 ve 70 mM). NaCI ün 30 mM dan daha yüksek konsantrasyonlarda cv.RT-125 in fide büyümesi gecikti. Cv. Rt-46, RT-54 ve RT-127 lerin kontrol fideleri, cv. RT-125 ile k›yasland›¤›nda toplam soluble flekerlerin ve sakkarozun yüksek seviyeleri gözlendi. cv. RT-127 kontrol fidelerinin prolin içerikleri di¤er kültürlerle karfl›laflt›r›ld›¤›nda düflük bulundu. Soluble protein seviyeleri, tüm deneysel koflullarda RT-125 ve RT-127 de RT-46 ve RT-54 dekinden daha yüksekti. Bununla beraber flekerlerin düzeyi tuz uygulanm›fl cvs. RT-127, RT-46 ve RT-54 kültürler RT-125 k›yasland›¤›nda daha fazla bulundu. Tuza duyarl› kültürlerin (RT-125) di¤erlerine oranla daha fazla malondialdehid (MDA) ve prolin biriktirdikleri belirlendi. Di¤er taraftan tuza toleransl› kültürler RT-54, RT-46 ve RT-127 kültürleri RT-125 ile k›yasland›¤›nda, yüksek süperoksit-dismutaz (SOD) ve düflük MDA aktivitesi gözlendi. A n a h t a r s ö z c ü k l e r : melondialdehid, süperoksit dismutaz, tuzluluk, protein profili, Sesamum indicum.