Protein profile of cotyledon, tegument, and embryonic axis of mature acorns from a non-orthodox plant species: Quercus ilex

Abstract

Contrary to the orthodox seeds, recalcitrant Holm oak seeds possess the enzymatic machinery to start germination during the maturation phase. The protein profile of the different parts, mature seeds, of the Holm oak, a non-orthodox plant species, has been characterized using one- and two-dimensional gel electrophoresis coupled to matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry. Protein content and profiles of the three seed tissues (cotyledon, embryonic axis and tegument) were quite different. The embryonic axis showed 4-fold and 20-fold higher protein content than the cotyledon and the tegument, respectively. Two hundred and twenty-six variable proteins among the three seed parts were identified, being classified according to their function into eight main groups. The cotyledon presented the highest number of metabolic and storage proteins (89% of them are legumin) compared to the embryonic axis and tegument. The embryonic axis had the highest number of the species within the protein fate group. The tegument presented the largest number of the defense-/stress-related and cytoskeleton proteins. This distribution is in good agreement with the biological role of the tissues. The study of the seed tissue proteome demonstrated a compartmentalization of pathways and a division of metabolic tasks between embryonic axis, cotyledon and tegument. This compartmentalization uncovered in our study should provide a starting point for understanding, at the molecular level, the particularities of the recalcitrant seeds.

Holm Oak (Quercus ilex) Transcriptome. De novo Sequencing and Assembly Analysis

“…In this context, our research group has been investigating different aspects of Q. ilex biology such as natural variation, seed germination and seedling growth, physiology, biotic and abiotic stress-responses, combining classical biochemistry, and integrating those multidisciplinary “omics” analysis (Echevarría-Zomeño et al, 2009 , 2012 ; Jorrín-Novo et al, 2009 ; Valero-Galván et al, 2011 , 2012 , 2013 ; Sghaier-Hammami et al, 2013 , 2016 ; Romero-Rodríguez et al, 2014 ). Nevertheless, the scarce genomic information (to date) available for Q. ilex , supposes, such as for other orphan tree species (Abril et al, 2011 ; Jorrín-Novo et al, 2015 ), a notable obstacle to successfully carry out these global studies at molecular level.…”

Anatomical and biochemical changes associated with the development and germination of <i>Araucaria angustifolia</i> seeds

“…Recalcitrant seeds transition quickly from development to germination, and they lack the ability to switch-off their metabolism after seed dispersal. However, some recalcitrant seeds modify their metabolism for germination even before dispersion, i.e., during seed development, which begins to mobilize both starch and proteins; highly vacuolated cells; biosynthesis and translation proteins (Caccere et al, 2013;Sghaier-Hammami et al, 2016). Such behavior facilitates the fast seedling establishment after their shedding.…”

“…have been found to experience rapid temporary metabolic shifts during maturation with highly vacuolated cells, which suggest a continuum from maturation to germination prior to seed dispersion (Caccere, Teixeira, Centeno, Figueiredo-Ribeiro, & Braga, 2013). The embryonic axis of Quercus ilex L. has also shown the ability to accomplish signal transduction for seed germination during maturation, from the presence of the large number of biosynthesis and translation proteins (Sghaier-Hammami, Redondo-López, Valero-Galvàn, & Jorrín-Novo, 2016). Other species have accumulated starch or soluble carbohydrate during recalcitrant seed development to have the immediate energy for germination (Souza, Santos Dias, Pimenta, Almeida, Toledo Picoli, Pádua Alvarenga, & Silva, 2018;Mazlan, Aizat, Baharum, Azizan, & Noor, 2018).…”

Comparative Proteomic Analysis of Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer × Panax quinquefolius L. Leaves and Parental Lines

“…The high expression of these proteins indicates that the hybrid F1 could ix more CO 2 in the Calvin cycle [30,31]. Ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase activase (RCA; spots 20, 54, and 55) regulates the activity of Rubisco in a light-dependent manner [32].…”