Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA), TRISAIA Research Center, Rotondella (Matera), Italy.
PLoS One. 2013;8(1):e53563. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0053563. Epub 2013 Jan 17.
Widespread in the Mediterranean basin, Olea europaea trees are gaining worldwide popularity for the nutritional and cancer-protective properties of the oil, mechanically extracted from ripe fruits. Fruit development is a physiological process with remarkable impact on the modulation of the biosynthesis of compounds affecting the quality of the drupes as well as the final composition of the olive oil. Proteomics offers the possibility to dig deeper into the major changes during fruit development, including the important phase of ripening, and to classify temporal patterns of protein accumulation occurring during these complex physiological processes.
METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In this work, we started monitoring the proteome variations associated with olive fruit development by using comparative proteomics coupled to mass spectrometry. Proteins extracted from drupes at three different developmental stages were separated on 2-DE and subjected to image analysis. 247 protein spots were revealed as differentially accumulated. Proteins were identified from a total of 121 spots and discussed in relation to olive drupe metabolic changes occurring during fruit development. In order to evaluate if changes observed at the protein level were consistent with changes of mRNAs, proteomic data produced in the present work were compared with transcriptomic data elaborated during previous studies.
CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: This study identifies a number of proteins responsible for quality traits of cv. Coratina, with particular regard to proteins associated to the metabolism of fatty acids, phenolic and aroma compounds. Proteins involved in fruit photosynthesis have been also identified and their pivotal contribution in oleogenesis has been discussed. To date, this study represents the first characterization of the olive fruit proteome during development, providing new insights into fruit metabolism and oil accumulation process.
油橄榄树广泛分布在地中海盆地，因其果实中提取的油具有营养和抗癌特性而在全球范围内受到欢迎。果实发育是一个生理过程，对调节影响核果质量以及橄榄油最终成分的化合物生物合成具有显著影响。蛋白质组学提供了深入研究果实发育过程中主要变化的可能性，包括成熟的重要阶段，并对这些复杂生理过程中发生的蛋白质积累的时间模式进行分类。
方法/主要发现：在这项工作中，我们通过使用比较蛋白质组学与质谱联用，开始监测与橄榄果实发育相关的蛋白质组变化。从三个不同发育阶段的核果中提取的蛋白质在 2-DE 上分离，并进行图像分析。共鉴定出 121 个差异表达的蛋白质点，其中 247 个蛋白质点被揭示为差异积累。讨论了与果实发育过程中橄榄核果代谢变化相关的蛋白质。为了评估蛋白质水平上观察到的变化是否与 mRNAs 的变化一致，本研究中产生的蛋白质组数据与之前研究中阐述的转录组数据进行了比较。
结论/意义：本研究鉴定了一些与 Coratina 品种品质特性相关的蛋白质，特别是与脂肪酸、酚类和香气化合物代谢相关的蛋白质。还鉴定了参与果实光合作用的蛋白质，并讨论了它们在油脂生成中的关键作用。迄今为止，这项研究代表了橄榄果实发育过程中蛋白质组的首次特征描述，为果实代谢和油脂积累过程提供了新的见解。
