Proteome and transcriptome analyses of wheat near isogenic lines identifies key proteins and genes of wheat bread quality

Abstract

The regulation of wheat protein quality is a highly complex biological process involving multiple metabolic pathways. To reveal new insights into the regulatory pathways of wheat glutenin synthesis, we used the grain-filling period wheat grains of the near-isogenic lines NIL-723 and NIL-1010, which have large differences in quality, to perform a combined transcriptome and proteome analysis. Compared with NIL-1010, NIL-723 had 1287 transcripts and 355 proteins with significantly different abundances. Certain key significantly enriched pathway were identified, and wheat quality was associated with alanine, aspartate and glutamate metabolism, nitrogen metabolism and alpha-linolenic acid metabolism. Differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) or Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in amino acid synthesis pathways were upregulated primarily in the glycine (Gly), methionine (Met), threonine (Thr), glutamic acid (Glu), proline (proC), cysteine (Cys), and arginine (Arg) synthesis and downregulated in the tryptophan (trpE), leucine (leuC), citrulline (argE), and ornithine (argE) synthesis. Furthermore, to elucidate changes in glutenin in the grain synthesis pathway, we plotted a regulatory pathway map and found that DEGs and DEPs in ribosomes (RPL5) and the ER (HSPA5, HYOU1, PDIA3, PDIA1, Sec24, and Sec31) may play key roles in regulating glutenin synthesis. The transcriptional validation of some of the differentially expressed proteins through real-time quantitative PCR analysis further validated the transcriptome and proteomic results.

Consensus genomic regions associated with grain protein content in hexaploid and tetraploid wheat

“…(v) CBS domain-containing proteins are believed to have regulatory functions; therefore, such proteins may be functional in improving GPC in wheat grains ( Leonova et al, 2022 ). (vi) Secretory24 (Sec24) and Sec31 (Sec31) promote anterograde transport of newly generated proteins from the endoplasmic reticulum to distinct compartments in the plant endometrium through shell protein complex II ( Lv et al, 2021 ). (vii) Glutamine synthetases are known to play key roles in plant nitrogen assimilation and ammonium detoxification thereby regulating GPC in durum wheat ( Nigro et al, 2016 ).…”