Effect of Aluminum Treatment on Proteomes of Radicles of Seeds Derived from Al-Treated Tomato Plants

Authors

Ikenna Okekeogbu, Tennessee State UniversityFollow
Zhujia Ye, Tennessee State UniversityFollow
Sasikiran Sangireddy, Tennessee State UniversityFollow
Hui Li, Tennessee State UniversityFollow
Sarabjit Bhatti, Tennessee State UniversityFollow
Dafeng Hui, Tennessee State UniversityFollow
Kevin J. Howe, Cornell UniversityFollow
Tara Fish, Cornell UniversityFollow
Yong Yang, Cornell UniversityFollow
Theodore W. Thannhauser, Cornell UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

3-28-2014

Abstract

Aluminum (Al) toxicity is a major constraint to plant growth and crop yield in acid soils. Tomato cultivars are especially susceptible to excessive Al³⁺ accumulated in the root zone. In this study, tomato plants were grown in a hydroponic culture system supplemented with 50 µM AlK(SO₄)₂. Seeds harvested from Al-treated plants contained a significantly higher Al content than those grown in the control hydroponic solution. In this study, these Al-enriched tomato seeds (harvested from Al-treated tomato plants) were germinated in 50 µM AlK(SO₄)₂ solution in a homopiperazine-1,4-bis(2-ethanesulfonic acid) buffer (pH 4.0), and the control solution which contained the buffer only. Proteomes of radicles were analyzed quantitatively by mass spectrometry employing isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation (iTRAQ^®). The proteins identified were assigned to molecular functional groups and cellular metabolic pathways using MapMan. Among the proteins whose abundance levels changed significantly were: a number of transcription factors; proteins regulating gene silencing and programmed cell death; proteins in primary and secondary signaling pathways, including phytohormone signaling and proteins for enhancing tolerance to abiotic and biotic stress. Among the metabolic pathways, enzymes in glycolysis and fermentation and sucrolytic pathways were repressed. Secondary metabolic pathways including the mevalonate pathway and lignin biosynthesis were induced. Biological reactions in mitochondria seem to be induced due to an increase in the abundance level of mitochondrial ribosomes and enzymes in the TCA cycle, electron transport chains and ATP synthesis.

Recommended Citation

Okekeogbu, I.; Ye, Z.; Sangireddy, S.R.; Li, H.; Bhatti, S.; Hui, D.; Zhou, S.; Howe, K.J.; Fish, T.; Yang, Y.; Thannhauser, T.W. Effect of Aluminum Treatment on Proteomes of Radicles of Seeds Derived from Al-Treated Tomato Plants. Proteomes 2014, 2, 169-190. https://doi.org/10.3390/proteomes2020169