Analysis of Active Components and Proteomics of Chinese Wild Rice (Zizania latifolia (Griseb) Turcz) and Indica Rice (Nagina22)

The ancient Chinese wild rice (Zizania latifolia (Griseb) Turcz) (CWR) has valuable biological and medicinal functions. To assess the advantages lost in modern cultivated rice after domestication, we compared the composition of bioactive compounds and the results of proteomic analysis with those of Indica rice (N22). We used routine methods to determine the protein, total dietary fiber, amino acid, mineral substance, plant secondary metabolites, and amino acid composition of CWR and N22. The protein and mineral contents of CWR were two times that of N22, and the levels of calcium, potassium, magnesium, chromium, iron, and zinc were significantly higher than those of N22 (P < .05). There was ∼7.6 times more dietary fiber in CWR than in N22, but fewer carbohydrates (P < .05). Anthocyanins and chlorophyll were detected in CWR, but were absent from N22. Compared with N22, CWR had 53, 19, and 5.4 times higher (P < .05) levels of saponins, flavonoids, and plant sterols, respectively. The amino acid score of CWR was 66.6, which was significantly higher than N22. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) indicated that the main seed proteins of CWR were glutelins, including both acid and alkaline subunits, which were approximately twice those of N22. To investigate the differences in protein profiles between CWR and N22, we conducted two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) analysis of the total proteins in the seeds of the two rice species. 2-DE gels revealed 19 differentially expressed proteins. Information obtained from peptide mass fingerprinting indicates that glutelin precursor caffeoyl coenzyme A (CoA) O-methyltransferase and putative bithoraxoid-like protein can provide good gene sources for improving rice quality.