Mo Zejun, Duan Lili, Pu Yuanyuan, Tian Zonglin, Ke Yuzhou, Luo Wen, Pi Kai, Huang Ying, Nie Qiong, Liu Renxiang
College of Agriculture, Guizhou University, Guiyang, China.
Key Laboratory of Tobacco Quality in Guizhou Province, Guiyang, China.
Front Plant Sci. 2022 Apr 28;13:860455. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2022.860455. eCollection 2022.
Nicotine is a unique alkaloid present in tobacco that is widely used in cigarettes and in the agricultural, chemical, and pharmaceutical industries. However, the research on nicotine is mostly limited to its synthesis pathways, and only a few studies have explored the effects of other metabolic pathways on nicotine precursors. Regulating the nicotine content in tobacco can greatly promoting the application of nicotine in other fields. In this study, we performed global data-independent acquisition proteomics analysis of four tobacco varieties. Of the four varieties, one had high nicotine content and three had a low nicotine content. A total of 31,259 distinct peptides and 6,018 proteins across two samples were identified. A total of 45 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) co-existed in the three comparison groups and were mainly involved in the transport and metallic processes of the substances. Most DEPs were enriched in the biosynthesis of secondary metals, glutathione metabolism, carbon metabolism, and glycolysis/gluconeogenesis. In addition, the weighted gene co-expression network analysis identified an expression module closely related to the nicotine content (Brown, = 0.74, = 0.006). Gene Ontology annotation and Kyoto Encyclopaedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment analysis showed that the module proteins were mainly involved in the synthesis and metabolism of nicotine precursors such as arginine, ornithine aspartate, proline, and glutathione. The increased levels of these precursors lead to the synthesis and accumulation of nicotine in plants. More importantly, these proteins regulate nicotine synthesis by affecting the formation of putrescine, which is the core intermediate product in nicotine anabolism. Our results provide a reference for tobacco variety selection with a suitable nicotine content and regulation of the nicotine content. Additionally, the results highlight the importance of other precursor metabolism in nicotine synthesis.
尼古丁是烟草中存在的一种独特生物碱,广泛用于香烟以及农业、化学和制药行业。然而,对尼古丁的研究大多局限于其合成途径,仅有少数研究探索了其他代谢途径对尼古丁前体的影响。调控烟草中的尼古丁含量能够极大地促进尼古丁在其他领域的应用。在本研究中,我们对四个烟草品种进行了全局数据非依赖采集蛋白质组学分析。在这四个品种中,一个尼古丁含量高,三个尼古丁含量低。在两个样本中总共鉴定出31,259种不同的肽和6,018种蛋白质。在三个比较组中共存在45种差异表达蛋白(DEPs),它们主要参与物质的运输和金属过程。大多数DEPs富集于次生金属的生物合成、谷胱甘肽代谢、碳代谢以及糖酵解/糖异生过程。此外,加权基因共表达网络分析确定了一个与尼古丁含量密切相关的表达模块(棕色,相关系数 = 0.74,P值 = 0.006)。基因本体注释和京都基因与基因组百科全书富集分析表明,该模块中的蛋白质主要参与精氨酸、鸟氨酸天冬氨酸、脯氨酸和谷胱甘肽等尼古丁前体的合成和代谢。这些前体水平的升高导致植物中尼古丁的合成和积累。更重要的是,这些蛋白质通过影响腐胺的形成来调节尼古丁合成,腐胺是尼古丁合成代谢中的核心中间产物。我们的结果为选择具有合适尼古丁含量的烟草品种以及调控尼古丁含量提供了参考。此外,结果突出了其他前体代谢在尼古丁合成中的重要性。