The Arabidopsis cytosolic proteome: the metabolic heart of the cell

Changes in the microsomal proteome of tomato fruit during ripening

The variations in the membrane proteome of tomato fruit pericarp during ripening have been investigated by mass spectrometry-based label-free proteomics. Mature green (MG30) and red ripe (R45) stages were chosen because they are pivotal in the ripening process: MG30 corresponds to the end of cellular expansion, when fruit growth has stopped and fruit starts ripening, whereas R45 corresponds to the mature fruit. Protein patterns were markedly different: among the 1315 proteins identified with at least two unique peptides, 145 significantly varied in abundance in the process of fruit ripening. The subcellular and biochemical fractionation resulted in GO term enrichment for organelle proteins in our dataset, and allowed the detection of low-abundance proteins that were not detected in previous proteomic studies on tomato fruits. Functional annotation showed that the largest proportion of identified proteins were involved in cell wall metabolism, vesicle-mediated transport, hormone biosynthesis, secondary metabolism, lipid metabolism, protein synthesis and degradation, carbohydrate metabolic processes, signalling and response to stress.

Enrichment of the Plant Cytosolic Fraction

The cytosol is at the core of cellular metabolism and contains many important metabolic pathways, including glycolysis, gluconeogenesis, and the pentose phosphate pathway. Despite the importance of this matrix, few attempts have sought to specifically enrich this compartment from plants. Although a variety of biochemical pathways and signaling cascades pass through the cytosol, much of the focus has usually been targeted at the reactions that occur within membrane-bound organelles of the plant cell. In this chapter, we outline a method for the enrichment of the cytosol from rice suspension cell cultures which includes sample preparation and enrichment as well as validation using immunoblotting and fluorescence-tagged proteins.

Approximating the stabilization of cellular metabolism by compartmentalization

Biochemical regulation in compartmentalized metabolic networks is highly complex and non-intuitive. This is particularly true for cells of higher plants showing one of the most compartmentalized cellular structures across all kingdoms of life. The interpretation and testable hypothesis generation from experimental data on such complex systems is a challenging step in biological research and biotechnological applications. While it is known that subcellular compartments provide defined reaction spaces within a cell allowing for the tight coordination of complex biochemical reaction sequences, its role in the coordination of metabolic signals during metabolic reprogramming due to environmental fluctuations is less clear. In the present study, we numerically analysed the effects of environmental fluctuations in a subcellular metabolic network with regard to the stability of an experimentally observed steady state in the genetic model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. Applying a method for kinetic parameter normalization, several millions of probable enzyme kinetic parameter constellations were simulated and evaluated with regard to the stability information of the metabolic homeostasis. Information about the stability of the metabolic steady state was derived from real parts of eigenvalues of Jacobian matrices. Our results provide evidence for a differential stabilizing contribution of different subcellular compartments. We could identify stabilizing and destabilizing network components which we could classify according to their subcellular localization. The findings prove that a highly dynamic interplay between intracellular compartments is preliminary for an efficient stabilization of a metabolic homeostasis after environmental perturbation. Further, our results provide evidence that feedback-inhibition originating from the cytosol and plastid seem to stabilize the sucrose homeostasis more efficiently than vacuolar control. In summary, our results indicate stabilizing and destabilizing network components in context of their subcellular organization.

Exploring the Arabidopsis proteome: influence of protein solubilization buffers on proteome coverage

The study of proteomes provides new insights into stimulus-specific responses of protein synthesis and turnover, and the role of post-translational modifications at the systems level. Due to the diverse chemical nature of proteins and shortcomings in the analytical techniques used in their study, only a partial display of the proteome is achieved in any study, and this holds particularly true for plant proteomes. Here we show that different solubilization and separation methods have profound effects on the resulting proteome. In particular, we observed that the type of detergents employed in the solubilization buffer preferentially enriches proteins in different functional categories. These include proteins with a role in signaling, transport, response to temperature stimuli and metabolism. This data may offer a functional bias on comparative analysis studies. In order to obtain a broader coverage, we propose a two-step solubilization protocol with first a detergent-free buffer and then a second step utilizing a combination of two detergents to solubilize proteins.

Model plant systems in salinity and drought stress proteomics studies: a perspective on Arabidopsis and Sorghum

More than a decade after the sequencing of its genome, Arabidopsis still stands as the epitome of a model system in plant biology. Arabidopsis proteomics has also taught us great lessons on different aspects of plant growth, development and physiology. Without doubt our understanding of basic principles of plant biology would not have been this advanced if it were not for knowledge gained using Arabidopsis as a model system. However, with the projections of global climate change and rapid population growth, it is high time we evaluate the applicability of this model system in studies aimed at understanding abiotic stress tolerance and adaptation, with a particular emphasis on maintaining yield under hot and dry environmental conditions. Because of the innate nature of sorghum's tolerance to drought and moderate tolerance to salinity stresses, we believe sorghum is the next logical model system in such studies amongst cereals. In this acute view, we highlight the importance of Arabidopsis as a model system, briefly discuss its potential limitations in drought and salt stress studies, and present our views on the potential usefulness of sorghum as a model system for cereals in drought and salinity stress proteomic studies.