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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Mississippi State, Mississippi » Crop Science Research Laboratory » Corn Host Plant Resistance Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #249431
Title: Proteome Profile of the Developing Maize (Zea mays L.) Rachis

Author
item PECHANOVA, OLGA - Mississippi State University
item PECHAN, TIBOR - Mississippi State University
item OZKAN, SEVAL - Mississippi State University
item ADAMS, JOSHUA - Mississippi State University
item MCCARTHY, FIONA - Mississippi State University
item Williams, William
item LUTHE, DAWN - Pennsylvania State University

Submitted to: Proteomics
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/1/2010
Publication Date: 7/1/2010
Citation: Pechanova, O., Pechan, T., Ozkan, S., Adams, J.P., McCarthy, F.M., Williams, W.P., Luthe, D.S. 2010. Proteome Profile of the Developing Maize (Zea mays L.) Rachis. Proteomics. 10:3051-3055.

Interpretive Summary: Infection of the developing corn ear with the fungus Aspergillus flavus, which produces the carcinogen aflatoxin, is a serious problem causing significant economic losses worldwide. The fungus spreads within the cob and infects the kernels. We performed the first high-throughput proteomic analysis of developing cob from the A. flavus resistant corn inbred line Mp313E. The proteome was investigated using two complementary approaches: two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) and two-dimensional liquid chromatography (2-D LC) coupled to tandem mass spectrometry and database search. A total of 1,037 proteins were identified, of which 266 (25.7%) were identified by both approaches whereas 277 (26.7%) and 494 (47.6%) were unique to 2-DE and 2-D LC, respectively. A 2-D proteome reference map was also established. Functional classification of identified proteins based on Gene Ontology annotation revealed that young Mp313E cob contains proteins of diverse molecular activities involved in various metabolic processes. Most importantly, we determined that 13.4% of the proteome is constituted by stress-responsive, defense-related and secondary metabolism proteins that may contribute to the overall resistance to A. flavus colonization. Identifying these proteins is an important step in the identification of genes associated with the inheritance of resistance to fungal infection and aflatoxin accumulation.

Technical Abstract: Infection of the developing maize (Zea mays L.) ear with the pathogenic fungus Aspergillus flavus, which produces the carcinogen aflatoxin, is a serious agricultural problem causing significant economic losses worldwide. The rachis (or cob) is an important structure that fungus uses to spread within ear and infect the kernels. Because of this and its importance in maize reproduction, we performed the first high-throughput proteomic analysis of developing rachis from the A. flavus resistant maize inbred line Mp313E. The rachis proteome was investigated using two complementary proteomic approaches, two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) and two-dimensional liquid chromatography (2-D LC) coupled to tandem mass spectrometry and database search. A total of 1,037 proteins were identified, of which 266 proteins (25.7%) were identified by both approaches whereas 277 (26.7%) and 494 (47.6%) were unique to 2-DE and 2-D LC, respectively. A 2-D proteome reference map was also established. Functional classification of identified proteins based on Gene Ontology annotation revealed that young Mp313E rachis contains proteins of diverse molecular activities that are involved in various metabolic processes. Most importantly, we determined that 13.4% of its proteome is constituted of stress-responsive, defense-related and secondary metabolism proteins that may contribute to the overall resistance to A. flavus colonization.