2D-DIGE based proteome analysis of wheat-Thinopyrum intermedium 7XL/7DS translocation line under drought stress

Background Drought stress is the most limiting factor for plant growth and crop production worldwide. As a major cereal crop, wheat is susceptible to drought. Thus, discovering and utilizing drought-tolerant gene resources from related species are highly important for improving wheat drought resistance. In this study, the drought tolerance of wheat Zhongmai 8601-Thinopyrum intermedium 7XL/7DS translocation line YW642 was estimated under drought stress, and then two-dimensional difference gel electrophoresis (2D-DIGE) based proteome analysis of the developing grains was performed to uncover the drought-resistant proteins. Results The results showed that 7XL/7DS translocation possessed a better drought-tolerance compared to Zhongmai 8601. 2D-DIGE identified 146 differential accumulation protein (DAP) spots corresponding to 113 unique proteins during five grain developmental stages of YW642 under drought stress. Among them, 55 DAP spots corresponding to 48 unique proteins displayed an upregulated expression, which were mainly involved in stress/defense, energy metabolism, starch metabolism, protein metabolism/folding and transport. The cis-acting element analysis revealed that abundant stress-related elements were present in the promoter regions of the drought-responsive protein genes, which could play important roles in drought defense. RNA-seq and RT-qPCR analyses revealed that some regulated DAP genes also showed a high expression level in response to drought stress. Conclusions Our results indicated that Wheat-Th. intermedium 7XL/7DS translocation line carried abundant drought-resistant proteins that had potential application values for wheat drought tolerance improvement.

Automated summary

This study evaluated the drought tolerance of the wheat Zhongmai 8601-Thinopyrum intermedium 7XL/7DS translocation line YW642 under drought stress and conducted a proteome analysis to identify drought-resistant proteins in the developing grains. The results showed that YW642 had better drought tolerance compared to Zhongmai 8601. The analysis identified multiple proteins involved in stress/defense, energy metabolism, and protein metabolism/folding that were upregulated in YW642 under drought stress. The presence of stress-related elements in the promoter regions of these drought-responsive protein genes suggests their important roles in drought defense. These findings provide valuable resources for improving wheat drought tolerance.