Next-Generation Proteomics Reveals a Greater Antioxidative Response to Drought in Coffea arabica Than in Coffea canephora

Abstract

Drought is a major threat to coffee, compromising the quality and quantity of its production. We have analyzed the core proteome of 18 Coffea canephora cv. Conilon Clone 153 and C. arabica cv. Icatu plants and assessed their responses to moderate (MWD) and severe (SWD) water deficits. Label-free quantitative shotgun proteomics identified 3000 proteins in both genotypes, but less than 0.8% contributed to ca. 20% of proteome biomass. Proteomic changes were dependent on the severity of drought, being stronger under SWD and with an enrolment of different proteins, functions, and pathways than under MWD. The two genotypes displayed stress-responsive proteins under SWD, but only C. arabica showed a higher abundance of proteins involved in antioxidant detoxification activities. Overall, the impact of MWD was minor in the two genotypes, contrary to previous studies. In contrast, an extensive proteomic response was found under SWD, with C. arabica having a greater potential for acclimation/resilience than C. canephora. This is likely supported by a wider antioxidative response and an ability to repair photosynthetic structures, being crucial to develop new elite genotypes that assure coffee supply under water scarcity levels.

Protective Responses at the Biochemical and Molecular Level Differ between a Coffea arabica L. Hybrid and Its Parental Genotypes to Supra-Optimal Temperatures and Elevated Air [CO2]

“…These supported the maintenance of increased photosynthetic potential promoted by eCO 2 and the absence of photosynthesis down-regulation [ 35 ]. In fact, single eCO 2 promoted moderate responsiveness regarding the antioxidative response, which was much lower than the one felt under drought [ 78 ] or heat constraints [ 28 , 29 , 36 ] in those same C. canephora and C. arabica genotypes.…”

“…By contrast, only the eCO 2 plants of Marsellesa at 42/30 °C displayed a greater concentration of lutein (than their aCO 2 counterparts) which likely strengthened the thermal dissipation protection of photosystems against photooxidation in those plants. In fact, the eCO 2 positive impact on the performance of the photosynthetic apparatus and stress defenses was reported at physiological and molecular levels in studies involving other C. arabica and C. canephora genotypes, where a significant up-regulation of photosynthetic, antioxidant, and lipid metabolism genes and/or proteins was found under eCO 2 [ 28 , 29 , 35 ]. That ultimately mitigated the harsh effects of drought [ 27 , 28 , 29 ] and heat [ 34 , 36 ], supporting the maintenance of higher photosynthetic performance under eCO 2 in the studied coffee genotypes.…”

“…Therefore, the reinforcement of mechanisms dedicated to preventing ROS overproduction and/or its efficient scavenging is usually crucial to plant tolerance to a wide number of environmental constraints. That is also the case in Coffea spp., which shows a common antioxidative response to several stresses, such as drought [ 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 ], high irradiance [ 30 ], cold [ 24 , 31 , 32 ], and heat [ 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 ].…”

Alterations in Transcriptome, Proteome and Metabolome During Drought Stress Inplants

“…Plant defence mechanisms include those associated with the strengthening of the antioxidative system, comprising enzymes (e.g., catalase, superoxide dismutase, peroxidase) and nonenzymatic components (e.g., ascorbic acid, á-tocopherol, RFOs), complemented with thermal dissipation mechanisms (e.g., photoprotective carotenoids) and the cyclic electron flow (CEF) involving proteins of photosystem (PS) I and/or II. Altogether, these response mechanisms contribute to maintain energy balance and cell oxidative homeostasis (Marques et al, 2022). Chaperone synthesis and oxidative pressure tolerance mechanisms allow plants to survive water deficit Proteome studies have contributed to better understanding of the role of ABA regulation in the synthesis of chloroplast proteins (Shanker et al, 2014).…”

Variability of Root System Size and Distribution among Coffea canephora Genotypes

“…These characteristics promote high heterogeneity in natural coffee fields of seminal origin [3,4]. Despite exhibiting some genotype dependency, the Conilon coffee cultivar stands out in the world scenario mainly for its robustness and ability to acclimate to different environmental constraints [5][6][7][8]. Therefore, this species is expected to have some capability to endure the ongoing and future climate changes, largely associated with a more frequent exposure to abiotic stress, namely, to unfavorable temperature and water availability conditions, which are also the main constraints for this crop's sustainability [9].…”