Protein Bodies in Cotyledon Cells Exhibit Differential Patterns of Legumin-Like Proteins Mobilization during Seedling Germinating States

Olive (Olea europaea L.) tree is one of the most extensive and important agricultural crop in Mediterranean countries due to its beneficial health and nutritional properties and its high economic value. Currently, olive tree constitutes the sixth most important cultivated plant in the world, spreading from the Mediterranean region of origin to new production areas such as Australia, South and North America and South Africa. However, the mobilization processes of storage materials i.e. reserve proteins during seed germination, which are largely involved in essential physiological process including plant growth and development, remain poorly understood. Morphometric and immunohistochemistry analyses of protein bodies contained in olive seed storage tissues, cotyledon and endosperm, were performed by using different microscopy techniques, including light (bright-field and fluorescence) microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Furthermore, we used legumin-like proteins (11S-type globulins) as a molecular marker to study the mobilization of reserve proteins from PBs of cotyledons at germinating seedling stages by using immunofluorescence assays. Results demonstrated that cotyledon and endosperm are characterized by distinct PBs populations containing legumin-like proteins, distinctly discriminated by the number of PBs per cell and tissue, size, immunofluorescence and histochemical staining. These features reflect differential PBs biogenesis during development and maturation processes in olive seed tissues endosperm and cotyledon, in relation to proteins (polypeptides) final composition, SSPs processing and/or packaging during seed maturation. Three different mobilization patterns of legumin-like proteins were identified for the first time in cotyledon PBs during seedling germinating process. Mature proteins composition and/or processing, cell types and enzyme composition and/or differential activation have been discussed as key features determining how proteins mobilize from PBs for further degradation in the cotyledon.

Genome sequencing and next-generation sequence data analysis: A comprehensive compilation of bioinformatics tools and databases

Genomics has become a ground-breaking field in all areas of the life sciences. The advanced genomics and the development of high-throughput techniques have lately provided insight into whole-genome characterization of a wide range of organisms. In the post-genomic era, new technologies have revealed an outbreak of prerequisite genomic sequences and supporting data to understand genome wide functional regulation of gene expression and metabolic pathways reconstruction. However, the availability of this plethora of genomic data presents a significant challenge for storage, analyses and data management. Analysis of this mega-data requires the development and application of novel bioinformatics tools that must include unified functional annotation, structural search, and comprehensive analysis and identification of new genes in a wide range of species with fully sequenced genomes. In addition, generation of systematically and syntactically unambiguous nomenclature systems for genomic data across species is a crucial task. Such systems are necessary for adequate handling genetic information in the context of comparative functional genomics. In this paper, we provide an overview of major advances in bioinformatics and computational biology in genome sequencing and next-generation sequence data analysis. We focus on their potential applications for efficient collection, storage, and analysis of genetic data/information from a wide range of gene banks. We also discuss the importance of establishing a unified nomenclature system through a functional and structural genomics approach.