title: Mining the surface proteome of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) fruit for proteins associated with cuticle biogenesis.
abstract: The aerial organs of plants are covered by the cuticle, a polyester matrix of cutin and organic solvent-soluble waxes that is contiguous with the polysaccharide cell wall of the epidermis. The cuticle is an important surface barrier between a plant and its environment, providing protection against desiccation, disease, and pests. However, many aspects of the mechanisms of cuticle biosynthesis, assembly, and restructuring are entirely unknown. To identify candidate proteins with a role in cuticle biogenesis, a surface protein extract was obtained from tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) fruits by dipping in an organic solvent and the constituent proteins were identified by several complementary fractionation strategies and two mass spectrometry techniques. Of the approximately 200 proteins that were identified, a subset is potentially involved in the transport, deposition, or modification of the cuticle, such as those with predicted lipid-associated protein domains. These include several lipid-transfer proteins, GDSL-motif lipase/hydrolase family proteins, and an MD-2-related lipid recognition domain-containing protein. The epidermal-specific transcript accumulation of several of these candidates was confirmed by laser-capture microdissection and quantitative reverse transcription-PCR (qRT-PCR), together with their expression during various stages of fruit development. This indicated a complex pattern of cuticle deposition, and models for cuticle biogenesis and restructuring are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
authors.forename: Trevor H
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Yeats
authors.forename: Kevin J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Howe
authors.forename: Antonio J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Matas
authors.forename: Gregory J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Buda
authors.forename: Theodore W
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Thannhauser
authors.forename: Jocelyn K C
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Rose
mesh_terms: D002265:Carboxylic Ester Hydrolases / Q000378:metabolism; D005638:Fruit / Q000201:enzymology / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D018551:Solanum lycopersicum / Q000737:chemistry / Q000145:classification / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D008563:Membrane Lipids / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000378:metabolism; D010802:Phylogeny; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism*; D020543:Proteome; D014885:Waxes / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D008563:Membrane Lipids; D010940:Plant Proteins; D020543:Proteome; D014885:Waxes; C000521:cutin; D002265:Carboxylic Ester Hydrolases