Differences in proteome response to cold acclimation in Zoysia japonica cultivars with different levels of freeze tolerance

Abstract

Zoysiagrasses (Zoysia spp.) are warm‐season turfgrasses primarily grown in the southern and transition zones of the United States. An understanding of the physiological and proteomic changes that zoysiagrasses undergo during cold acclimation may shed light on phenotypic traits and proteins useful in selection of freeze‐tolerant genotypes. We investigated the relationship between cold acclimation, protein expression, and freeze tolerance in cold acclimated (CA) and nonacclimated (NA) plants of Zoysia japonica Steud. cultivars Meyer (freeze‐tolerant) and Victoria (freeze‐susceptible). Meristematic tissues from the grass crowns were harvested for proteomic analysis. Freeze testing indicated that cold acclimation accounted for a 1.9‐fold increase in plant survival than nonacclimation treatment. Overall, proteomic analysis identified 62 protein spots differentially accumulated in abundance under cold acclimation. Nine and 22 unique protein spots were identified for Meyer and Victoria, respectively, with increased abundance or decreased abundance. In addition, 23 shared protein spots were found among the two cultivars in response to cold acclimation. Function classification revealed that these proteins were involved primarily in transcription, signal transduction and stress defense, carbohydrate and energy metabolism, and protein and amino acid metabolism. Several proteins of interest for their association with cold acclimation were identified. Further investigation of these proteins and their functional categories may contribute to increase our understanding of the differences in freezing tolerance among zoysiagrass germplasm.

Identification of QTL associated with cold acclimation and freezing tolerance in Zoysia japonica

“…However, opposite results were shown without CA: Victoria had higher values for both SGT and RG than Meyer (Table 1, Supplemental Figure S1). In another recent study, we found the LT50 value (the temperature at which 50% of the plants die) of CA Meyer was significantly lower than CA Victoria, but NA cultivars were similar to each other (Brown et al., 2020). These results indicate that although Victoria shows more constitutive freezing tolerance that is less dependent on the strength of CA, Meyer exhibits higher levels of CA that play a significant effect on improving freezing survival.…”

“…Recently, Brown et al. (2020) reported that CA accounted for a 1.9‐fold increase in zoysiagrass survival compared with the non‐acclimation (NA) treatment in a controlled environment freezing test. Further proteomic analysis in zoysiagrass identified 62 differentially accumulated proteins under CA, which were involved primarily in transcription, signal transduction and stress defense, carbohydrate and energy metabolism, and protein and amino acid metabolism (Brown et al., 2020).…”

“…(2020) reported that CA accounted for a 1.9‐fold increase in zoysiagrass survival compared with the non‐acclimation (NA) treatment in a controlled environment freezing test. Further proteomic analysis in zoysiagrass identified 62 differentially accumulated proteins under CA, which were involved primarily in transcription, signal transduction and stress defense, carbohydrate and energy metabolism, and protein and amino acid metabolism (Brown et al., 2020). Beyond that, due to the quantitative nature of freezing tolerance, there is a need for greater knowledge on the genetic control of the trait in order to improve selection criteria beyond phenotypic evaluations.…”

Substance accumulation of a wetland plant, Leersia japonica, during senescence in the Yihe and Shuhe River Basin, North China

“…It is believed that substance accumulation guarantees overwintering success and the revival of plants ( Wang et al., 2019 ). Plants usually accumulate soluble sugar to tolerate cold stress in winter ( Brown et al., 2020 ), as well as accumulate soluble protein to support enzyme synthesis, dormant bud occurrence, and subsequent revival in spring ( Brown et al., 2020 ). In this study, the substance accumulation of L. japonica was reflected in the increased biomass ( Table 1 ) and the increased contents of soluble sugar and protein of the roots, even after the leaves withered by week 6 ( Figures 4A , 5A ).…”

A Survey of Enhanced Cold Tolerance and Low-Temperature-Induced Anthocyanin Accumulation in a Novel Zoysia japonica Biotype

“…Anthocyanins may scavenge ROS as an efficient antioxidant by neutralizing radicals with their hydroxyl groups to preserve normal cellular redox homeostasis; hence, plants often generate anthocyanins to reduce oxidative damage caused by low-temperature stress [ 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 ]. Low-temperature responsive networks in zoysiagrass have been investigated through physiological, biochemical, molecular, genetic and omic approaches [ 7 , 15 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 ]. However, no studies have attempted to associate anthocyanin accumulation with cold tolerance in zoysiagrass.…”