Patterns of Protein Oxidation in Arabidopsis Seeds and during Germination

• Published in: Plant physiology (Bethesda) Vol. 138; no. 2; pp. 790 - 802
• Main Authors: Job, Claudette, Rajjou, Loi̊c, Lovigny, Yoann, Belghazi, Maya, Job, Dominique
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Rockville, MD American Society of Plant Biologists 01.06.2005; American Society of Plant Physiologists; Oxford University Press ; American Society of Plant Biologists
• Subjects: Arabidopsis - growth & development; Arabidopsis - metabolism; Arabidopsis Proteins - metabolism; Arabidopsis thaliana; Biological and medical sciences; Development and Hormone Action; Enzymes; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gels; Gene Expression Profiling; Germination; Germination - physiology; Germination and dormancy; Globulins; Imbibition; Oxidation; Oxidation-Reduction; Oxidative stress; plant biochemistry; Plant physiology and development; plant proteins; protein carbonylation; proteome; proteomics; Seed germination; seed maturation; Seed storage; seeds; Seeds - metabolism; Storage proteins; two-dimensinal gel electrophoresis; O-Acetylhomoserine (thiol)-lyase; Seeds; Enzyme; Germination; Imbibition; Ribulose-bisphosphate carboxylase; Lyases; Synthase; Arabidopsis thaliana; Glycolytic enzyme; Carbon-carbon lyases; Cruciferae; Carboxy-lyases; Dicotyledones; Angiospermae; Proteomics; Aldehyde reductase; Development; Spermatophyta; Oxidoreductases; Carbon-oxygen lyases; ATP; Legumin
• ISSN: 0032-0889; 1532-2548
• DOI: 10.1104/pp.105.062778

Increased cellular levels of reactive oxygen species are known to occur during seed development and germination, but the consequences in terms of protein degradation are poorly characterized. In this work, protein carbonylation, which is an irreversible oxidation process leading to a loss of function of the modified proteins, has been analyzed by a proteomic approach during the first stages of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) seed germination. In the dry mature seeds, the legumin-type globulins (12S cruciferins) were the major targets. However, the acidic [alpha]-cruciferin subunits were carbonylated to a much higher extent than the basic ([beta]) ones, consistent with a model in which the [beta]-subunits are buried within the cruciferin molecules and the [alpha]-subunits are more exposed to the outside. During imbibition, various carbonylated proteins accumulated. This oxidation damage was not evenly distributed among seed proteins and targeted specific proteins as glycolytic enzymes, mitochondrial ATP synthase, chloroplastic ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase large chain, aldose reductase, methionine synthase, translation factors, and several molecular chaperones. Although accumulation of carbonylated proteins is usually considered in the context of aging in a variety of model systems, this was clearly not the case for the Arabidopsis seeds since they germinated at a high rate and yielded vigorous plantlets. The results indicate that the observed specific changes in protein carbonylation patterns are probably required for counteracting and/or utilizing the production of reactive oxygen species caused by recovery of metabolic activity in the germinating seeds.