Proteomic analysis of near‐isogenic lines reveals key biomarkers on wheat chromosome 4B conferring drought tolerance

Abstract

Drought is a major constraint for wheat production that is receiving increased attention due to global climate change. This study conducted isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation proteomic analysis on near‐isogenic lines to shed light on the underlying mechanism of qDSI.4B.1 quantitative trait loci (QTL) on the short arm of chromosome 4B conferring drought tolerance in wheat. Comparing tolerant with susceptible isolines, 41 differentially expressed proteins were identified to be responsible for drought tolerance with a p‐value of < 0.05 and fold change >1.3 or <0.7. These proteins were mainly enriched in hydrogen peroxide metabolic activity, reactive oxygen species metabolic activity, photosynthetic activity, intracellular protein transport, cellular macromolecule localization, and response to oxidative stress. Prediction of protein interactions and pathways analysis revealed the interaction between transcription, translation, protein export, photosynthesis, and carbohydrate metabolism as the most important pathways responsible for drought tolerance. The five proteins, including 30S ribosomal protein S15, SRP54 domain‐containing protein, auxin‐repressed protein, serine hydroxymethyltransferase, and an uncharacterized protein with encoding genes on 4BS, were suggested as candidate proteins responsible for drought tolerance in qDSI.4B.1 QTL. The gene coding SRP54 protein was also one of the differentially expressed genes in our previous transcriptomic study.

Exploring the genomics of abiotic stress tolerance and crop resilience to climate change

“…Furthermore, proteomics stands out as a potent omics technique capable of shedding light on the complex molecular mechanisms linked with drought tolerance by analyzing the expression profile of the proteome. Nouraei et al (2023) utilized isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation proteomic analysis on nearisogenic lines, identifying five key proteins underlying the qDSI.4B.1 QTL on the short arm of chromosome 4B conferring drought tolerance in wheat. Additionally, in their investigation of the molecular basis of drought stress response in chickpea, Kudapa et al (2023) adopted an integrative "multiomics" approach, demonstrating the differential accumulation of transcripts, proteins, and metabolites in root tissues under drought conditions.…”

Genome‐wide scanning to identify and validate single nucleotide polymorphism markers associated with drought tolerance in spring wheat seedlings

“…The analysis of gene enrichment for the candidate genes confirmed the power of GWAS for identifying alleles located within gene models that have biological and molecular process pathways under drought stress in crops (Figure 6; Table S7). For example, three candidate genes were included in the peptide biosynthetic process in wheat (Nouraei et al, 2023) and maize (Zea mays L.) (Jin et al, 2019;Onyemaobi et al, 2021). Peptide biosynthetic pathways play a critical role in coordinating plant responses to various abiotic stresses especially for drought stress (Kim et al, 2021).…”