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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Kearneysville, West Virginia » Appalachian Fruit Research Laboratory » Innovative Fruit Production, Improvement, and Protection » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #199291
Title: USING PROTEOMICS TO STUDY THE COMPLEXITIES OF STRESS ADAPTATION IN WOODY PLANTS

Author
item Wisniewski, Michael
item RENAUT, JENNY - CRP, LUXEMBOURG

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/15/2006
Publication Date: 10/14/2006
Citation: Wisniewski, M.E., Renaut, J. 2006. USING PROTEOMICS TO STUDY THE COMPLEXITIES OF STRESS ADAPTATION IN WOODY PLANTS. Meeting Abstract. Protolux: 1st International Conference on Proteomics: Book of Abstracts, Oct 11-14, 2006, Luxemborg, p.3.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Winter survival of woody plants in temperate climates depends on their ability to acclimate to freezing temperatures. The ability to cold acclimate in woody plants can be quite complex. Different organs (buds vs. leaves) and tissues (xylem vs. bark) can differ dramatically in the extent of their cold hardiness and utilize different mechanisms to achieve hardiness. Additionally, maximum hardiness is linked to dormancy and can be greatly influenced by the state of dormancy. Although, great progress has been made in understanding the induction of gene expression in response to freezing stress, research on the role of specific proteins has been relatively limited. The existence of large families of stress proteins, presumably with different roles and the fact that some of these proteins act within the cell wall or extracellular space, also indicates that a better understanding of the stress-induced proteome is essential in order to develop a comprehensive knowledge of cold acclimation. Recent advances in proteomic technologies have greatly increased our ability to study the role of proteins in relation to plant physiology and revitalized interest in this field of study. In a recent proteomic study utilizing DiGE technology of the response of peach (Prunus persica) to low temperature (LT) and/or short photoperiod (SD), we were able to catalog (carbohydrate metabolism, defense and stress-reponse, energy production, and cytoskeletal organization) a wide-range of proteins that were responsive to either or both of these stimuli. Interestingly, most of the proteins responsive to SD were also responsive to LT, although, in some cases, the response to LT was additive. Also, we noted the induction of a large number of pathogenesis-related proteins in response to LT. This may reflect their stimulation by abscisic acid and/or the ability of some PR-proteins to act as antifreeze proteins. These results will be summarized and discussed. Examples of how proteomic technologies can be used to provide greater insight into how plants respond to both low, non-freezing, as well as sub-zero temperatures will be provided. For example, different dehydrin proteins within the same plant can be elicited by different abiotic stresses or developmental triggers. Little is known about the cellular and tissue-specific distribution of these proteins. There are also indications that specific cell wall proteins may play a role in the freezing response of a plant but have not been studied. Lastly, proteomic studies have the potential to provide great insight into the distribution, processing, and role of antifreeze and ice-nucleation-inhibiting proteins in determining the freezing response of plants.