Proteomics analysis of alfalfa response to heat stress

• Published in: PloS one 2013-12, Vol.8 (12), p.e82725-e82725
• Main Authors: Li, Weimin, Wei, Zhenwu, Qiao, Zhihong, Wu, Zinian, Cheng, Lixiang, Wang, Yuyang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acids; Adaptation, Biological; Alfalfa; Amino acids; Animal sciences; Arabidopsis; Cold; Cytology; Energy metabolism; Energy storage; Enzymes; Fruits; Gel electrophoresis; Gene expression; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; Growth chambers; Heat; Heat stress; Heat tolerance; Homeostasis; Hot Temperature; Mass spectrometry; Mass spectroscopy; Medicago sativa; Medicago sativa - genetics; Medicago sativa - growth & development; Medicago sativa - metabolism; Metabolism; mRNA; Oxidative stress; Phenotype; Physiological aspects; Plant Leaves - genetics; Plant Leaves - growth & development; Plant Leaves - metabolism; Protein biosynthesis; Protein synthesis; Protein transport; Protein turnover; Proteins; Proteome; Proteomics; RNA; RNA, Messenger - genetics; Seedlings; Seedlings - genetics; Seedlings - growth & development; Seedlings - metabolism; Seeds; Signal transduction; Spots; Stress response; Stress, Physiological; Transduction; Trends; Zoology
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0082725

The proteome responses to heat stress have not been well understood. In this study, alfalfa (Medicago sativa L. cv. Huaiyin) seedlings were exposed to 25 °C (control) and 40 °C (heat stress) in growth chambers, and leaves were collected at 24, 48 and 72 h after treatment, respectively. The morphological, physiological and proteomic processes were negatively affected under heat stress. Proteins were extracted and separated by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2-DE), and differentially expressed protein spots were identified by mass spectrometry (MS). Totally, 81 differentially expressed proteins were identified successfully by MALDI-TOF/TOF. These proteins were categorized into nine classes: including metabolism, energy, protein synthesis, protein destination/storage, transporters, intracellular traffic, cell structure, signal transduction and disease/defence. Five proteins were further analyzed for mRNA levels. The results of the proteomics analyses provide a better understanding of the molecular basis of heat-stress responses in alfalfa.