Abstract
Cassava is one of the most important root crops as a reliable source of food and carbohydrates. Carbohydrate metabolism and starch accumulation in cassava storage root is a cascade process that includes large amounts of proteins and cofactors. Here, comparative proteomics were conducted in cassava root at nine developmental stages. A total of 154 identified proteins were found to be differentially expressed during starch accumulation and root tuberization. Many enzymes involved in starch and sucrose metabolism were significantly up-regulated, and functional classification of the differentially expressed proteins demonstrated that the majority were binding-related enzymes. Many proteins were took part in carbohydrate metabolism to produce energy. Among them, three 14-3-3 isoforms were induced to be clearly phosphorylated during storage root enlargement. Overexpression of a cassava 14-3-3 gene in Arabidopsis thaliana confirmed that the older leaves of these transgenic plants contained higher sugar and starch contents than the wild-type leaves. The 14-3-3 proteins and their binding enzymes may play important roles in carbohydrate metabolism and starch accumulation during cassava root tuberization. These results not only deepened our understanding of the tuberous root proteome, but also uncovered new insights into carbohydrate metabolism and starch accumulation during cassava root enlargement.
Highlights
Many gene expression studies performed in potatoes and sweet potatoes have revealed the regulatory mechanisms of carbohydrate metabolism and starch accumulation during tuberization[1,7]
The cassava roots began to develop into tuberous roots in approximately 2 months, and the starch granules clearly appeared at approximately 3 months under a light microscope
In-depth proteomics revealed that the enzymes involved in energy metabolism and binding activity may play important roles in cassava storage roots
Summary
Many gene expression studies performed in potatoes and sweet potatoes have revealed the regulatory mechanisms of carbohydrate metabolism and starch accumulation during tuberization[1,7]. Both endogenous factors and environmental factors can induce tuberous root formation. Using label-free quantitative proteomics, these researchers further identified nearly 300 differentially expressed proteins during PPD They verified that glutathione peroxidase can reduce PPD in cassava storage roots[11]. Despite these studies, the proteomics changes in cassava tuberous roots during starch accumulation remain unclear. Functional analysis revealed that the cassava 14-3-3 gene may be important for starch accumulation in cassava tuberous roots
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