A systematic study of the determinants of protein abundance memory in cell lineage

Proteins are essential players of life activities, lntraceUular protein levels directly affect cellular functions and cell fate. Upon cell division, the proteins in the mother cell are inherited by the daughters. However, what factors and by how much they affect this epigenetic inheritance of protein abundance remains unclear. Using both computational and experimental approaches, we systematically investigated this problem. We derived an analytical expression for the dependence of protein inheritance on various factors and showed that it agreed with numerical simulations of protein production and experimental results. Our work provides a framework for quantitative studies of protein inheritance and for the potential application of protein memory manipulation.

iTRAQ-Based Proteomics Investigation of Critical Response Proteins in Embryo and Coleoptile During Rice Anaerobic Germination

Direct-seeding of rice has become popular in recent years due to its low cost and convenience,however,hypoxic condition limits seedling establishment.In this study,weedy rice WR04-6 with high germination ability under anaerobic conditions was used as a gene donor,and we successfully improved the seedling establishment rate of rice cultivar Qishanzhan(QSZ)based on selection of a new rice line R42 from the recombinant inbred line population.R42 inherited high anaerobic germination(AG)ability,and was used for isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation(iTRAQ)-based comparative proteomic studies with QSZ to further explore the molecular mechanism of AG.A total of 719 differentially abundant proteins(DAPs)were shared by R42 and QSZ responded to AG,and thus defined as common response DAPs.A total of 300 DAPs that responded to AG were only identified from R42,which were defined as tolerance-specific DAPs.The common response and tolerance-specific DAPs had similar biochemical reaction processes and metabolic pathways in response to anoxic stress,however,they involved different proteins.The tolerance-specific DAPs were involved in amino acid metabolism,starch and sucrose metabolism,tricarboxylic acid cycle pathway,ethylene synthesis pathway,cell wall-associated proteins and activity of active oxygen scavenging enzyme.The in silico protein-protein interactions for the top 60 DAPs indicated that tolerance-specific DAPs had relatively independent protein interaction networks in response to an anoxic environment compared with common response DAPs.The results of physiological indicators showed thatα-amylase and superoxide dismutase activities of R42 were significantly increased under anoxic conditions compared with aerobic conditions.Multiple lines of evidence from western blot,physiological analysis and quantitatDirect seeding of rice has become popular in recent years due to its low cost and convenience,however,hypoxic conditions can limit seedling establishment.In the present study,weedy rice WR04-6 with high germination ability in anaerobic conditions was used as the gene donor and successfully improved the seedling establishment rate of rice cultivar Qishanzhan(QSZ)based on selection of a new rice line R42 from the recombinant inbred line(RIL)population.R42 inherited the had high anaerobic germination(AG)ability,which was used for the isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation(iTRAQ)based comparative proteomic studies with QSZ to further explore the molecular mechanism of AG.A total of 719 differentially abundant proteins(DAPs)shared by R42 and QSZ responded to AG and were thus defined as common response DAPs.A total of 300 DAPs that responded to AG were only identified from R42,which were defined as tolerance-specific DAPs.The common response and tolerance-specific DAPs had similar biochemical reaction processes and metabolic pathways in response to anoxic stress,however they involved different proteins.The 300 tolerance-specific DAPs were involved in amino acid metabolism,starch and sucrose metabolism,TCA cycle pathways,ethylene synthesis pathway,cell wall-associated proteins and activity of active oxygen scavenging enzyme.The in silico protein-protein interactions for the top 60 DAPs indicated that tolerance-specific DAPs had relatively independent protein interaction networks in response to an anoxic environment compared with common response DAPs.The results of physiological indicators showed thatα-amylase and SOD activities of R42 were significantly increased under anoxic conditions compared with aerobic conditions.Multiple lines of evidence from western blot,physiological analyses and real-time PCR jointly supported the reliability of proteomics data.In summary,our findings deepened the understanding of the molecular mechanism for the rice response to AG.ive real-time PCR jointly supported the reliability of proteomics data.In summary,our findings deepened the understanding of the molecular mechanism for the rice response to AG.

Proteomic Profiling and Protein-Protein Interaction Network Reveal the Molecular Mechanisms of Susceptibility to Drought Stress in Canola(Brassica napus L.)

Drought stress is one of the most important abiotic stresses that plants face frequently in nature.Under drought conditions,many morphological,physiological,and molecular aspects of plants are changed and as a result plants experience a remarkable reduction in growth,yield,and reproduction.To expand our understanding of the molecular basis of the plant response to drought stress,the proteomic profile and protein-protein network of canola(Brassica napus L.)were studied.The focus was to show molecular mechanisms related to canola susceptibility to drought stress.The experiment used a completely randomized design,implemented in a hydroponic system under greenhouse conditions.To impose drought stress,plants were exposed to Hoagland’s solution supplemented with polyethylene glycol(PEG)6000 for 7 days.The drought stress resulted in 161reproducible protein spots in twodimensional electrophoresis of canola leaves.The t-student test showed 21 differentially abundant proteins(DAP),of which 2 and 19 were up and down accumulated,respectively.Two spots identified as 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate oxidase and D-2-hydroxyglutarate dehydrogenase showed an increased abundance of 2.11 and 1.77,respectively.The extended protein-protein interaction of differentially abundant proteins and KEGG analysis showed 47 pathways directly and indirectly associated with canola response to drought stress.DAPs with increased abundance were associated with amino acid and signaling processes,whereas DAPs with decreased abundance were mostly connected with pathways responsible for energy production.The results of the study will help to elucidate further the molecular events associated with the susceptibility to drought stress in canola.

Effects of Space Flight on Expression of Key Proteins in Rice Leaves

As a unique form of abiotic stress, the environmental conditions of outer space are expected to induce changes in plant genomes, proteomes and metabolic pathways. However, the effect of outer space conditions on the overall physiology of plants at the protein level has yet to be reported. To investigate the effects of outer space conditions on the growth-and development-related physiological processes and metabolic pathways of rice different stages, the seeds of rice variety DN423 were sent into orbit for 12.5 d aboard the SJ-10 Returning Satellite, and then the seedlings of both treated and control rice were compared at the three-leaf stage(TLS) and tillering stage(TS). In addition to comparing plant growth and reactive oxygen species(ROS) levels, seedling proteomes were also compared using isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation(i TRAQ). Space flight increased TLS plant height by 20%, reduced and increased ROS levels of the TLS and TS seedlings, respectively, and affected the expression of 36 and 323 proteins in TLS and TS leaves, respectively. Furthermore, the functions of the differentially abundant proteins were mainly associated with metabolism, energy, and protein synthesis and degradation. These results suggested that the exposure of seeds to outer space conditions affects the subsequent abundance of key signaling proteins, gene expression, and the processes of protein synthesis and degradation, thereby affecting metabolic processes and promoting adaptation to the abiotic stress of outer space. As such, the present study sheds light on the effects of space flight on plants and contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of extraterrestrial biology.

Optimization of low-abundance protein extraction and abundant protein removal from defatted soybean meal

The aim of this study was to optimize the conditions for the extraction of low-abundance proteins（LAPs） and the removal of abundant proteins（APs; β-conglycinin and glycinin） from soybean meal.Single factor and orthogonal experiments were designed to determine the effects of four factors（isopropanol concentration, total extraction time, ultrasonic power, and ultrasonic time） on protein concentration in isopropanol extracts.Proteins in the isopropanol supernatant and the cold acetone precipitate of isopropanol were identified by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis（SDS-PAGE） and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry（MALDI-TOF-MS）.The results showed that the optimal conditions were 50% isopropanol, ultrasonic pretreatment for 15 min at 350 W, and a total extraction time of 1 h.Under these conditions, the protein concentration in the isopropanol extracts reached 0.8081 g/L.Many LAPs were detected, including β-amylase, soybean agglutinin, soybean trypsin inhibitor, fumarylacetoacetase-like, phospholipase D alpha 1-like, oleosin, and even some unknown soybean proteins.The soybean APs（β-conglycinin and glycinin） were not found.The method may be useful for discovering new soybean proteins and extracting enough LAPs of soybean to allow further studies of their physiological effects on animals without the influence of APs.

Proteomic analysis provides insights into the function of Polian vesicles in the sea cucumber A postichopus japonicus post-evisceration

The Polian vesicle is the main accessory structure in the water vascular system of sea cucumbers.It can function to hold water vascular fluid under slight pressure and act as a hematopoiesis,excretory,and inflammatory response organ.Being the only organ to remain after evisceration,the Polian vesicle may function in the survival and regeneration of sea cucumber.We performed Tandem Mass Tag(TMT)-based proteomics to identify how proteins in the Polian vesicle of Apostichopus japonicus respond to evisceration.Among the 8453 proteins identified from vesicle samples before evisceration(PVOh)and at 6-h post-evisceration(PV6h)and 3-d post-evisceration(PV3d),we detected 222 differentially abundant proteins(DAPs).Most of the annotated DAPs were associated with cell growth and proliferation,immune response and wound healing,substance transport and metabolism,cytoskeleton/cilia/flagella,extracellular matrix,energy production and conversion,protein synthesis and modification,and signal recognition and transduction.Compared with PVOh,fewer DAPs were identified at PV6h,and more DAPs were found at PV3d,and these DAPs were widely distributed among multiple biological processes.Our results indicate that a wide range of biological processes was induced in Polian vesicles in response to evisceration.In particular,Polian vesicles may play important roles in the re storation of coelomocyte s,immune defense,and wound healing in sea cucumber.We propose that the Polian vesicle may be involved in visceral regeneration through nutrition and energy supply and by promoting dedifferentiation and migration.Together,these results provided new insights into the function of the Polian vesicle in A.japonicus post-evisceration.

A tunable, rapid, and precise drug control of protein expression by combining transcriptional and post-translational regulation systems

Rapid,precise,and tunable regulation of protein abundance would be significantly useful in a variety of biotechnologies and biomedical applications.Here,we describe a system that allows tunable and rapid drug control of gene expression for either gene activation or inactivation in mammalian cells.We construct the system by coupling Tet-on 3 G and small molecule-assisted shutoff systems,which can respectively induce transcriptional activation and protein degradation in the presence of corresponding small molecules.This dual-input drug inducer regulation system facilitates a bidirectional control of gene expression.The gene of interest can be precisely controlled by dual small molecules in a broad dynamic range of expression from overexpression to complete silence,allowing gene function study in a comprehensive expression profile.Our results reveal that the bidirectional control system enables sensitive dosage-and time-dependent regulation for either turn-on or shutoff of gene expression.We also apply this system for inducible genome editing and gene activation mediated by clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats.The system provides an integrated platform for studying multiple biological processes by manipulating gene expression in a more flexible way.

Two New Group 3 LEA Genes of Wheat and Their Functional Analysis in Yeast

The group 3 late embryogenesis abundant （LEA） proteins are thought to protect cells from stresses associated with dehydration during periods of water deficit. To investigate the functions of different members of the group 3 LEA genes, we isolated and characterized two new group 3 LEA genes, namely TaLEA2 and TaLEA3, from wheat （Triticum aestivum L.） and introduced TaLEA2 and TaLEA3 into Saccharmyces cerevisiae to examine the effect of these genes on yeast cell tolerance to osmotic, salt, and cold stresses. The TaLEA2 gene encoded a protein of 211 amino acids and possessed five repeats of 11-mer amino acid motifs. The TaLEA3 gene encoded a polypeptide of 211 amino acids with nine repeated units. Overexpression of TaLEA2 and TaLEA3 improved stress tolerance in transgenic yeast cells when cultured in medium containing sorbitol, salt and-20℃ freezing treatments respectively. However, the yeast transformants with TaLEA2 seemed to be more tolerant to hyperosmotic and freezing stress than transformants with TaLEA3. This implies that a close relationship exists between function and the number of repeats of the 11- mer amino acid motif in the group 3 LEA protein.