Proteomic study of a tolerant genotype of durum wheat under salt-stress conditions

Anal Bioanal Chem. 2014 Feb;406(5):1423-35. doi: 10.1007/s00216-013-7549-y. Epub 2013 Dec 15.

Abstract

Salinity is one of the major abiotic stress conditions limiting crop growth and productivity. Duilio is a wheat genotype that shows tolerant behavior in both salt-stress and drought-stress conditions. Toward better understanding of the biochemical response to salinity in this genotype of durum wheat, a comparative label-free shotgun proteomic analysis based on normalized spectral abundance factors was conducted on wheat leaf samples subjected to increasing salt-stress levels (100 and 200 mmol L(-1) NaCl) with respect to untreated samples. We found significant changes in 71 proteins for the first stress level, in 83 proteins at the higher salinity level, and in 88 proteins when comparing salt-stress levels with each other. The major changes concerned the proteins involved in primary metabolism and production of energy, followed by those involved in protein metabolism and cellular defense mechanisms. Some indications of different specific physiological and defense mechanisms implicated in increasing tolerance were obtained. The enhanced salinity tolerance in Duilio appeared to be governed by a higher capacity for osmotic homeostasis, a more efficient defense, and an improvement of protection from mechanical stress by increased cell wall lignifications, allowing a better potential for growth recovery.

MeSH terms

  • Cell Wall / drug effects
  • Cell Wall / genetics*
  • Droughts
  • Energy Metabolism / genetics
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Plant*
  • Genotype
  • Plant Immunity / genetics
  • Plant Leaves / drug effects
  • Plant Leaves / genetics*
  • Plant Proteins / genetics*
  • Proteomics*
  • Salinity
  • Salt Tolerance / genetics
  • Signal Transduction
  • Sodium Chloride / pharmacology
  • Triticum / drug effects
  • Triticum / genetics*

Substances

  • Plant Proteins
  • Sodium Chloride