The effect and molecular mechanism of powdery mildew on wheat grain prolamins

Abstract

SUMMARYA field experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of powdery mildew (Blumeria graminis f. sp. Tritici, Bgt) on wheat grain at varying levels of disease severity and at different growth stages. Methods used to determine these effects included Kjeldahl determination, unidimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, dielectrophoresis combined with mass spectrometric analysis. The specific influences explored were those on prolamins and protein composition at the molecular level. Concentrations of both grain protein and prolamin in wheat increased as disease indices (DIs) of powdery mildew rose from 20 days after anthesis (DAA) to maturity. Globulin concentrations changed dynamically and significantly, especially at 25 DAA when DI was the highest. This was verified by proteomic analysis which showed globulins (such as globulin 3, globulin 3B, globulin 3C, gliadin/avenin-like protein and triticin) being up-regulated significantly under powdery mildew stress. It was proposed that powdery mildew might indirectly affect protein accumulation in grain by influencing the regulative enzymes (including peptidylprolyl isomerase, cyclophilin A-2 and GTPase ObgE) and metabolic processes. It was speculated that the indirect increase caused by yield reduction was not the only factor causing the increase in prolamin concentration. Another factor may be the rise of expression level of molecular chaperones and enzymes relating to protein synthesis, which led to the rise in protein synthesis.