Acoustic technology for high-performance disruption and extraction of plant proteins

Use of focused ultrasonication in activity-based profiling of deubiquitinating enzymes in tissue

To develop a reproducible tissue lysis method that retains enzyme function for activity-based protein profiling, we compared four different methods to obtain protein extracts from bovine lung tissue: focused ultrasonication, standard sonication, mortar & pestle method, and homogenization combined with standard sonication. Focused ultrasonication and mortar & pestle methods were sufficiently effective for activity-based profiling of deubiquitinases in tissue, and focused ultrasonication also had the fastest processing time. We used focused-ultrasonicator for subsequent activity-based proteomic analysis of deubiquitinases to test the compatibility of this method in sample preparation for activity-based chemical proteomics.

Potentiality of Soybean Proteomics in Untying the Mechanism of Flood and Drought Stress Tolerance

Dissecting molecular pathways at protein level is essential for comprehensive understanding of plant stress response mechanism. Like other legume crops, soybean, the world's most widely grown seed legume and an inexpensive source of protein and vegetable oil, is also extremely sensitive to abiotic stressors including flood and drought. Irrespective of the kind and severity of the water stress, soybean exhibits a tight control over the carbon metabolism to meet the cells required energy demand for alleviating stress effects. The present review summarizes the major proteomic findings related to changes in soybean proteomes in response to flood and drought stresses to get a clear insight into the complex mechanisms of stress tolerance. Furthermore, advantages and disadvantages of different protein extraction protocols and challenges and future prospects of soybean proteome study are discussed in detail to comprehend the underlying mechanism of water stress acclimation.

Soybean proteomics

Soybean, the world's most widely grown seed legume, is an important global source of vegetable oil and protein. Though, complete draft genome sequence of soybean is now available, but functional genomics studies remain in their infancy, as this agricultural legume species exhibits genetic constrains like genome duplications and self-incompatibilities. The techniques of proteomics provide much powerful tool for functional analysis of soybean. In the present review, an attempt has been made to summarize all significant contributions in the field of soybean proteomics. Special emphasis is given to subcellular proteomics in response to abiotic stresses for better understanding molecular basis of acquisition of stress tolerance mechanism. Detailed protocols of protein extraction, solubilization, fractionation of subcellular organelle, and proteins identification are explained for soybean proteomics. All this information would not only enrich us in understanding the plants response to environmental stressors but would also enable us to design genetically engineered stress tolerant soybean.

Soybean proteomics for unraveling abiotic stress response mechanism

Plant response to abiotic stresses depends upon the fast activation of molecular cascades involving stress perception, signal transduction, changes in gene and protein expression and post-translational modification of stress-induced proteins. Legumes are extremely sensitive to flooding, drought, salinity and heavy metal stresses, and soybean is not an exception of that. Invention of immobilized pH gradient strips followed by advancement in mass spectrometry has made proteomics a fast, sensitive and reliable technique for separation, identification and characterization of stress-induced proteins. As the functional translated portion of the genome plays an essential role in plant stress response, proteomic studies provide us a finer picture of protein networks and metabolic pathways primarily involved in stress tolerance mechanism. Identifying master regulator proteins that play key roles in the abiotic stress response pathway is fundamental in providing opportunities for developing genetically engineered stress-tolerant crop plants. This review highlights recent contributions in the field of soybean biology to comprehend the complex mechanism of abiotic stress acclimation. Furthermore, strengths and weaknesses of different proteomic methodologies of extracting complete proteome and challenges and future prospects of soybean proteome study both at organ and whole plant levels are discussed in detail to get new insights into the plant abiotic stress response mechanism.

Advances in qualitative and quantitative plant membrane proteomics

The membrane proteome consists of integral and membrane-associated proteins that are involved in various physiological and biochemical functions critical for cellular function. It is also dynamic in nature, where many proteins are only expressed during certain developmental stages or in response to environmental stress. These proteins can undergo post-translational modifications in response to these different conditions, allowing them to transiently associate with the membrane or other membrane proteins. Along with their increased size, hydrophobicity, and the additional organelle and cellular features of plant cells relative to mammalian systems, the characterization of the plant membrane proteome presents unique challenges for effective qualitative and quantitative analysis using mass spectrometry (MS) analysis. Here, we present the latest advancements developed for the isolation and fractionation of plant organelles and their membrane components amenable to MS analysis. Separations of membrane proteins from these enriched preparations that have proven effective are discussed for both gel- and liquid chromatography-based MS analysis. In this context, quantitative membrane proteomic analyses using both isotope-coded and label-free approaches are presented and reveal the potential to establish a wider-biological interpretation of the function of plant membrane proteins that will ultimately lead to a more comprehensive understanding of plant physiology and their response mechanisms.

Comparative analyses of the proteomes of leaves and flowers at various stages of development reveal organ-specific functional differentiation of proteins in soybean

The functional differentiation of protein networks in individual organs and tissues of soybean at various developmental stages was investigated by proteomic approach. Protein extraction by Mg/NP-40 buffer followed by alkaline phenol-based method was optimized for proteomic analysis. Proteome analyses of leaves at various developmental stages showed 26 differentially expressed proteins, wherein proteins in translocon at the outer/inner envelope membrane of chloroplast protein-transport machineries increased significantly at the first trifoliate. Immunoblot analysis showed chaperonin-60 expressed abundantly in young leaves, whereas HSP 70 and ATP-synthase beta were constitutively expressed in all tissues. The net photosynthesis rate and chlorophyll content showed an age-dependent correlation in leaves. These results suggest that proteins involved in carbon assimilation, folding and assembly, and energy may work synchronously and show a linear correlation to photosynthesis at developmental stages of leaves. Comparison of flower bud and flower proteome reveals 29 differentially expressed proteins, wherein proteins involved in mitochondrial protein transport and assembly, secondary metabolism, and pollen-tube growth were up-regulated during flower development. Together, these results suggest that during developmental stages, each type of tissue is associated with a specific group of proteins; wherein proteins involved in energy, sugar metabolism, and folding, assembly, and destination may play pivotal roles in the maturation process of each organ or tissue.

Soybean proteomics and its application to functional analysis

Complete genome sequences, which are available for rice and Arabidopsis, provide insights into many fundamental aspects of plant biology; they do not, however, address some important aspects of legume biology. Legumes are important for maintenance of human health and as crops for sustainable agriculture. Two model species of legume, Lotus japonicus and Medicago truncatula, have been the focus of projects on genome sequencing and functional genomics. A project aimed at sequencing the genome of the agricultural legume soybean recently began, but functional genomics studies of this plant are in their infancy, and therefore proteomics approaches could be a powerful tool for functional analysis. In this review, we discuss the strengths and weaknesses of proteomics technologies in soybean biology and we examine the limitations of current techniques.