Comparative proteomic analysis reveals that the Heterosis of two maize hybrids is related to enhancement of stress response and photosynthesis respectively

Abstract

Background Heterosis refers to superior traits exhibiting in a hybrid when compared with both parents. Generally, the hybridization between parents can change the expression pattern of some proteins such as non-additive proteins (NAPs) which might lead to heterosis. ‘Zhongdan808’ (ZD808) and ‘Zhongdan909’ (ZD909) are excellent maize hybrids in China, however, the heterosis mechanism of them are not clear. Proteomics has been wildly used in many filed, and comparative proteomic analysis of hybrid and its parents is helpful for understanding the mechanism of heterosis in the two maize hybrids. Results Over 2000 protein groups were quantitatively identified from second seedling leaves of two hybrids and their parents by label-free quantification. Statistical analysis of total identified proteins, differentially accumulated proteins (DAPs) and NAPs of the two hybrids revealed that both of them were more similar to their female parents. In addition, most of DAPs were up-regulated and most of NAPs were high parent abundance or above-high parent abundance in ZD808, while in ZD909, most of DAPs were down-regulated and most of NAPs were low parent abundance or below-low parent abundance. Pathway enrichment analysis showed that more of stress response-related NAPs in ZD808 were high parent abundance or above-high parent abundance, and most of PS related NAPs in ZD909 were high parent abundance or above-high parent abundance. Finally, four stress response-related proteins and eight proteins related to PS were verified by PRM, ten of them had significant differences between hybrid and midparent value. Conclusions Even though every one of the two hybrids were more similar to its female parent at proteome level, the biological basis of heterosis is different in the two maize hybrids. In comparison with their parents, the excellent agronomic traits of hybrid ZD808 is mainly correlated with the high expression levels of some proteins related to stress responses and metabolic functions, while traits of ZD909 is mainly correlated with high expressed proteins related to photosynthesis. Our proteomics results support previous physiological and morphological research and have provided useful information in understanding the reason of valuable agronomic traits.

Photosynthetic Efficiency and Glyco-Metabolism Changes in Artificial Triploid Loquats Contribute to Heterosis Manifestation

“…For instance, a study on heterosis manifestation in cotton ( Gossypium hirsutum ) hybrid “Huaza Mian H318” uncovered that enhanced photosynthesis and carbohydrate metabolism facilitated heterosis in H318 during the seeding stage [ 72 ]. Similar results were also found in studies on heterosis in maize and Brassica napus [ 73 , 74 ]. Interestingly, in this study, results comparable to the outcomes discussed above were found through KEGG analyses, that is, significant DEGs were related to photosynthetic-efficiency- and glyco-metabolism-related pathways, such as peroxisomes, carbon metabolism, glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, and citrate cycle (TCA cycle).…”

Plant height heterosis is quantitatively associated with expression levels of plastid ribosomal proteins

“…Carbon-fixation-related proteins had a mixed pattern of expression differences in the hybrid and overall were neither positively nor negatively correlated with plant height heterosis. Others report that hybrids are associated with either elevated levels of photosynthetic proteins (hybrid ZD909) or stress proteins (hybrid ZD808), but not both ( 33 ).…”

Advances in Research on the Mechanism of Heterosis in Plants

“…They detected 85 proteins that non-additively accumulate in at least one hybrid, and the result indicated that the increase of hybrid protein synthesis rate might be related to the early performance of hybrid vigor in seminal roots. Wang et al (2021) identified over 2000 proteomes from maize hybrids and their parents’ seedling leaves via label-free quantification. Moreover, they verified four stress-related proteins and eight photosynthetic-related proteins via parallel reaction monitoring.…”

“…Hybrids are superior to parents in terms of yield, growth rate, viability, and disease resistance (Hochholdinger and Hoecker, 2007). In agricultural production, heterosis is widely utilized in animals, such as silkworms, and plants, such as rice, maize, vegetables, and some perennials (Vaillancourt et al, 1995;Arcade et al, 1996;Kopp et al, 2002;Marcelo et al, 2007;Costa et al, 2014;Chen et al, 2020;Wang et al, 2021;Yu et al, 2021;Zhang et al, 2021). The use of heterosis has gradually improved the yield, quality, and disease resistance of animals and plants, thereby enhancing the social and economic benefits of agricultural production.…”