Proteomic Analysis of Plant Stress Responses
Summary
Proteomic analysis has emerged as a powerful approach to unravel how plants perceive and respond to a wide range of environmental stresses, including drought, heat, salinity and cold. By profiling the full complement of proteins expressed under stress conditions, researchers can characterise changes in signalling components, protective proteins, metabolic enzymes and post-translational modifications. Techniques such as two-dimensional electrophoresis, liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry and isobaric labelling enable high-throughput detection of stress-responsive proteins, offering insights into dynamic processes such as reactive oxygen scavenging, osmoregulation, signal transduction and protein turnover. Integration of proteomic data with transcriptomic and metabolomic profiles reveals networks of co-regulated genes and proteins, uncovers novel regulators and provides candidate markers for breeding more resilient crops. Globally, these studies underpin strategies for sustainable agriculture by identifying targets for genetic improvement, marker-assisted selection and biotechnological intervention to enhance crop tolerance to increasingly frequent and severe abiotic challenges.
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Proteomic Analysis of Plant Stress Responses publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in proteomic analysis of plant stress responses across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Proteome: The complete set of proteins expressed by a cell, tissue or organism under specific conditions.
Post-translational modification: Chemical alteration of a protein after synthesis, such as phosphorylation or glycosylation, which can affect activity and localisation.
Liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS): An analytical technique that separates and identifies proteins or peptides based on mass and chemical properties.
Reactive oxygen species (ROS): Highly reactive molecules derived from oxygen that can damage cellular components but also serve as signalling molecules.
Isobaric labelling: A quantitative proteomic method in which peptides are tagged with chemically identical labels that fragment to reveal reporter ions in the mass spectrometer.
References
- Global Proteome Profiling Revealed the Adaptive Reprogramming of Barley Flag Leaf to Drought and Elevated Temperature. Cells (2023).
- Genomics, Proteomics, and Metabolomics Approaches to Improve Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Tomato Plant. International Journal of Molecular Sciences (2023).
- Applications of Multi-Omics Technologies for Crop Improvement. Frontiers in Plant Science (2021).
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