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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Columbia, Missouri » Plant Genetics Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #262941
Title: Seed proteomics

Author
item Miernyk, Jan
item HAJDUCH, MARTIN - Slovak Academy Of Sciences

Submitted to: Journal of Proteomics
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/10/2010
Publication Date: 12/21/2010
Citation: Miernyk, J.A., Hajduch, M. 2010. Seed proteomics. Journal of Proteomics. 74(4):389-400.

Interpretive Summary: Seeds are simultaneously the end product of agricultural production and the starting point for the next generation of crop plants. Seed storage proteins are a major component of all seeds, and act as a depot for reduced nitrogen. This nitrogen is used during seed germination and the period before a new seedling becomes independent. Seed storage proteins undergo a complex series of chemical changes after they are initially made. In order to study the thousands of non-storage proteins in seeds, it is necessary to remove the storage proteins. Four different methods for removal are compared. Analysis of non-storage proteins are compared on the basis of seed type. Advantages of seeds for foreign protein expression are listed. This information will be useful to scientists in their efforts to improve agricultural crop production through both classical breeding and application of biotechnology strategies.

Technical Abstract: Seeds comprise a protective covering, a small embryonic plant, and a nutrient-storage organ. Seeds are protein-rich, and have been the subject of many mass spectrometry-based analyses. Seed storage proteins (SSP), which are transient depots for reduced nitrogen, have been studied for decades by cell biologists, and many of the complicated aspects of their processing, assembly, and compartmentation are now well understood. Unfortunately, the abundance and complexity of the SSP requires that they be avoided or removed prior to gel-based analysis of non-SSP. While much of the extant data from MS-based proteomic analysis of seeds is descriptive, it has nevertheless provided a preliminary metabolic picture explaining much of their biology. Contemporary studies are moving more toward analysis of protein interactions and posttranslational modifications, and functions of metabolic networks. Many aspects of the biology of seeds make them an attractive platform for heterologous protein expression. Herein we present a broad review of the results from the proteomic studies of seeds, and speculate on potential future research directions.