Proteomic changes in maize as a response to heavy metal (lead) stress revealed by iTRAQ quantitative proteomics

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Lead (Pb), a heavy metal, has become a crucial pollutant in soil and water, causing not only permanent and irreversible health problems, but also substantial reduction in crop yields. In this study, we conducted proteome analysis of the roots of the non-hyperaccumulator inbred maize line 9782 at four developmental stages (0, 12, 24, and 48 h) under Pb pollution using isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantification technology. A total of 252, 72 and 116 proteins were differentially expressed between M12 (after 12-h Pb treatment) and CK (water-mocked treatment), M24 (after 24-h Pb treatment) and CK, and M48 (after 48-h Pb treatment) and CK, respectively. In addition, 14 differentially expressed proteins were common within each comparison group. Moreover, Cluster of Orthologous Groups enrichment analysis revealed predominance of the proteins involved in posttranslational modification, protein turnover, and chaperones. Additionally, the changes in protein profiles showed a lower concordance with corresponding alterations in transcript levels, indicating important roles for transcriptional and posttranscriptional regulation in the response of maize roots to Pb pollution. Furthermore, enriched functional categories between the successive comparisons showed that the proteins in functional categories of stress, redox, signaling, and transport were highly up-regulated, while those in the functional categories of nucleotide metabolism, amino acid metabolism, RNA, and protein metabolism were down-regulated. This information will help in furthering our understanding of the detailed mechanisms of plant responses to heavy metal stress by combining protein and mRNA profiles.

Comparative Proteomic and Physiological Analyses of Two Divergent Maize Inbred Lines Provide More Insights into Drought-Stress Tolerance Mechanisms

“…Thus, YE8112 had a more limited proteome response. A series of reports on maize seedling-stage abiotic stress analyses between different inbred lines exist [ 2 , 4 ]. In particular, Li et al [ 2 ] found relatively large number of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in freezing-sensitive inbred line Hei8834 than freezing-tolerant line KR701 after freezing treatment.…”

“…A series of reports on maize seedling-stage abiotic stress analyses between different inbred lines exist [ 2 , 4 ]. In particular, Li et al [ 2 ] found relatively large number of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in freezing-sensitive inbred line Hei8834 than freezing-tolerant line KR701 after freezing treatment. Similarly, Zheng et al [ 4 ] realized greater proportion of DEGs in drought-sensitive Ye478 than drought-tolerant Han21 after drought treatment.…”

“…Maize ( Zea mays L.) is one of the world’s most agro-economically important crops because of its raw material use in the food, feed, and biofuel production for humans and animals [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]. However, it is under severe threat from various abiotic stresses including drought, salinity, cold, heat, and flooding [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 ].…”

Application of mass spectrometry to elucidate the pathophysiology of Encephalitozoon cuniculi infection in rabbits

“…Then, a customized ratio was calculated for every protein group as the median of all PSMs included in the protein group. Only ratios with P < 0.05 and only fold-changes ≥ 2.0 across two aliquot replicates were used to determine up- or down-regulated proteins [20]. …”

Identification of low potassium stress-responsive proteins in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) seedling roots using an iTRAQ-based analysis

“…Several studies have demonstrated that iTRAQ is an effective method for examining proteins that are differentially expressed under different stressful physiological conditions. For example, it has been used in a proteomic analysis of grapevine leaves under heat stress conditions , and to investigate the response of maize to heavy metal (lead) stress (Li et al, 2016). To the best of our knowledge, only a few proteomic studies have been conducted on low potassium levels in plants, and these have been on Arabidopsis (Kang et al, 2004) and ramie (Deng et al, 2014).…”