Initial description of the developing soybean seed protein Lys-N(ε)-acetylome

Is Lys-Nɛ-acetylation the next big thing in post-translational modifications?

Lys-N(ɛ)-acetylation (PKA) has recently ascended from a post-translational modification (PTM) of limited distribution to one approaching the abundance of O-phosphorylation. Thousands of KAC proteins have been identified in Archaea, bacteria, and Eukarya, and the KAC system of acetyltransferases, deacetylases, and binding proteins is superficially comparable with the kinases, phosphatases, and phospho- (P-)protein binding-proteins of O-phosphorylation. Herein, we describe recent results and compare several aspects of these two major systems of PTM in plants.

In silico analysis of protein Lys-N(𝜀)-acetylation in plants

Among post-translational modifications, there are some conceptual similarities between Lys-N(𝜀)-acetylation and Ser/Thr/Tyr O-phosphorylation. Herein we present a bioinformatics-based overview of reversible protein Lys-acetylation, including some comparisons with reversible protein phosphorylation. The study of Lys-acetylation of plant proteins has lagged behind studies of mammalian and microbial cells; 1000s of acetylation sites have been identified in mammalian proteins compared with only hundreds of sites in plant proteins. While most previous emphasis was focused on post-translational modifications of histones, more recent studies have addressed metabolic regulation. Being directly coupled with cellular CoA/acetyl-CoA and NAD/NADH, reversible Lys-N(𝜀)-acetylation has the potential to control, or contribute to control, of primary metabolism, signaling, and growth and development.