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Comparative proteomic analysis reveals the positive effect of exogenous spermidine on photosynthesis and salinity tolerance in cucumber seedlings

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Abstract

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Our results based on proteomics data and physiological alterations proposed the putative mechanism of exogenous Spd enhanced salinity tolerance in cucumber seedlings.

Abstract

Current studies showed that exogenous spermidine (Spd) could alleviate harmful effects of salinity. It is important to increase our understanding of the beneficial physiological responses of exogenous Spd treatment, and to determine the molecular responses underlying these responses. Here, we combined a physiological analysis with iTRAQ-based comparative proteomics of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) leaves, treated with 0.1 mM exogenous Spd, 75 mM NaCl and/or exogenous Spd. A total of 221 differentially expressed proteins were found and involved in 30 metabolic pathways, such as photosynthesis, carbohydrate metabolism, amino acid metabolism, stress response, signal transduction and antioxidant. Based on functional classification of the differentially expressed proteins and the physiological responses, we found cucumber seedlings treated with Spd under salt stress had higher photosynthesis efficiency, upregulated tetrapyrrole synthesis, stronger ROS scavenging ability and more protein biosynthesis activity than NaCl treatment, suggesting that these pathways may promote salt tolerance under high salinity. This study provided insights into how exogenous Spd protects photosynthesis and enhances salt tolerance in cucumber seedlings.

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Abbreviations

ALA:

5-Aminolevulinic acid

Ci:

Intercellular CO2

FW:

Fresh weight

Gs:

Stomatal conductance

iTRAQ:

Isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantification

NPQ:

Non-photochemical quenching

PAs:

Polyamines

Pn:

Net photosynthetic rate

ROS:

Reactive oxygen species

Spd:

Spermidine

TCA:

Tricarboxylic acid cycle

OPP:

Oxidative pentose phosphate pathway

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 31401919, 31471869 and 31272209), the Central Research Institutes of Basic Research Fund (6J0745), the China Earmarked Fund for Modern Agro-industry Technology Research System (CARS-25-C-03), the Jiangsu Province Scientific and Technological Achievements into Special Fund (BA2014147), and the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (PAPD).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Southern Vegetables Genetic Improvement of Ministry of Agriculture, College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China

    Ting Sang, Xi Shan, Bin Li, Sheng Shu, Jin Sun & Shirong Guo

  2. Facility Horticulture Institute, Nanjing Agricultural University, Suqian, Jiangsu, 223800, China

    Jin Sun & Shirong Guo

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  1. Ting Sang
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  2. Xi Shan
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  3. Bin Li
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  4. Sheng Shu
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  5. Jin Sun
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  6. Shirong Guo
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Correspondence to Shirong Guo.

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Communicated by Qiao Zhao.

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Fig. S1

Effects of exogenous spermidine application on superoxide production rate and hydrogen peroxide content in leaves of cucumber under salt stress for 3 d. The Fig is representative of two independent experiments. Values represent mean ± SD (n = 6). Different letters indicate that they are significantly different from each other (P < 0.05). Determination method as previously described (Brian and Ian 1984; Elstner and Heupel 1976) (JPEG 923 kb)

Table S1

Differentially expressed cucumber proteins under exogenous Spd with/without NaCl treatment. (XLS 70 kb)

Table S2

Details of peptides in proteins whose response to NaCl or exogenous Spd with/without NaCl treatment. (XLS 4782 kb)

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Sang, T., Shan, X., Li, B. et al. Comparative proteomic analysis reveals the positive effect of exogenous spermidine on photosynthesis and salinity tolerance in cucumber seedlings. Plant Cell Rep 35, 1769–1782 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00299-016-1995-x

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