title: Do Cupins Have a Function Beyond Being Seed Storage Proteins?
abstract: Plants continue to flourish around the site of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant disaster. The ability of plants to transcend the radio-contaminated environment was not anticipated and is not well understood. The aim of this study was to evaluate the proteome of flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) during seed filling by plants grown for a third generation near Chernobyl. For this purpose, seeds were harvested at 2, 4, and 6 weeks after flowering and at maturity, from plants grown in either non-radioactive or radio-contaminated experimental fields. Total proteins were extracted and the two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) patterns analyzed. This approach established paired abundance profiles for 130 2-DE spots, e.g., profiles for the same spot across seed filling in non-radioactive and radio-contaminated experimental fields. Based on Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) followed by sequential Bonferroni correction, eight of the paired abundance profiles were discordant. Results from tandem mass spectrometry show that four 2-DE spots are discordant because they contain fragments of the cupin superfamily-proteins. Most of the fragments were derived from the N-terminal half of native cupins. Revisiting previously published data, it was found that cupin-fragments were also involved with discordance in paired abundance profiles of second generation flax seeds. Based on these observations we present an updated working model for the growth and reproductive success of flax in a radio-contaminated Chernobyl environment. This model suggests that the increased abundance of cupin fragments or isoforms and monomers contributes to the successful growth and reproduction of flax in a radio-contaminated environment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Developmental and Reproduction Biology, Institute of Plant Genetics and Biotechnology, Slovak Academy of Sciences Nitra, Slovakia.
authors.forename: Daša
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gábrišová
authors.affiliation: Department of Developmental and Reproduction Biology, Institute of Plant Genetics and Biotechnology, Slovak Academy of Sciences Nitra, Slovakia.
authors.forename: Katarína
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Klubicová
authors.affiliation: Institute of Virology, Slovak Academy of SciencesBratislava, Slovakia; Institute of Cell Biology and Genetic Engineering, National Academy of Sciences of UkraineKyiv, Ukraine.
authors.forename: Maksym
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Danchenko
authors.affiliation: Technical University in Zvolen Zvolen, Slovakia.
authors.forename: Dušan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gömöry
authors.affiliation: Institute of Cell Biology and Genetic Engineering, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine Kyiv, Ukraine.
authors.forename: Valentyna V
authors.initials: VV
authors.lastname: Berezhna
authors.affiliation: Institute of Virology, Slovak Academy of Sciences Bratislava, Slovakia.
authors.forename: Ludovit
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Skultety
authors.affiliation: United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, University of Missouri Columbia, MO, USA.
authors.forename: Ján A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Miernyk
authors.affiliation: Institute of Cell Biology and Genetic Engineering, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine Kyiv, Ukraine.
authors.forename: Namik
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Rashydov
authors.affiliation: Department of Developmental and Reproduction Biology, Institute of Plant Genetics and Biotechnology, Slovak Academy of SciencesNitra, Slovakia; Institute of Virology, Slovak Academy of SciencesBratislava, Slovakia.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hajduch
keywords: Chernobyl; abiotic stress; flax seeds; ionizing radiation; mass spectrometry; proteomics