In vivo phosphoproteome characterization reveals key starch granule-binding phosphoproteins involved in wheat water-deficit response

• Published in: BMC plant biology Vol. 17; no. 1; p. 168
• Main Authors: Chen, Guan-Xing, Zhen, Shou-Min, Liu, Yan-Lin, Yan, Xing, Zhang, Ming, Yan, Yue-Ming
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 23.10.2017; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Agricultural production; Amylopectin; Binding; Bioinformatics; Biosynthesis; Bread; Cell division; Corn; Crop yield; Cultivars; Drought; Electrophoresis; Enzymes; Gel electrophoresis; Gene expression; genes; Grain; grain yield; Granular materials; Granule-bound starch synthase; Irrigation; Mass spectrometry; Phosphoproteins; Phosphoproteome; Phosphorylation; Physiological aspects; Plant-water relationships; protein synthesis; Proteins; proteome; Proteomics; quantitative polymerase chain reaction; Rain; reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction; Scanning electron microscopy; Scientific imaging; seed development; Starch; Starch granule-binding proteins; starch granules; Starch synthase; Starch synthase II; Starch synthase III; Transcription; transcription (genetics); Triticum aestivum; Triticum aestivum L; two-dimensional gel electrophoresis; Water stress; Water-deficit; Weight; Wheat; wheat starch; Winter; Triticum aestivum L; Phosphoproteome; Water-deficit; Starch granule-binding proteins; Bioinformatics
• ISSN: 1471-2229; 1471-2229
• DOI: 10.1186/s12870-017-1118-z

Drought stress during grain development causes significant yield loss in cereal production. The phosphorylated modification of starch granule-binding proteins (SGBPs) is an important mechanism regulating wheat starch biosynthesis. In this study, we performed the first proteomics and phosphoproteomics analyses of SGBPs in elite Chinese bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivar Jingdong 17 under well-watered and water-stress conditions. Water stress treatment caused significant reductions in spike grain numbers and weight, total starch and amylopectin content, and grain yield. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis revealed that the quantity of SGBPs was reduced significantly by water-deficit treatment. Phosphoproteome characterization of SGBPs under water-deficit treatment demonstrated a reduced level of phosphorylation of main starch synthesis enzymes, particularly for granule-bound starch synthase (GBSS I), starch synthase II-a (SS II-a), and starch synthase III (SS III). Specifically, the Ser34 site of the GBSSI protein, the Tyr358 site of SS II-a, and the Ser837 site of SS III-a exhibited significant less phosphorylation under water-deficit treatment than well-watered treatment. Furthermore, the expression levels of several key genes related with starch biosynthesis detected by qRT-PCR were decreased significantly at 15 days post-anthesis under water-deficit treatment. Immunolocalization showed a clear movement of GBSS I from the periphery to the interior of starch granules during grain development, under both water-deficit and well-watered conditions. Our results demonstrated that the reduction in gene expression or transcription level, protein expression and phosphorylation levels of starch biosynthesis related enzymes under water-deficit conditions is responsible for the significant decrease in total starch content and grain yield.