title: Proteomic insights into floral biology.
abstract: The flower is the most important biological structure for ensuring angiosperms reproductive success. Not only does the flower contain critical reproductive organs, but the wide variation in morphology, color, and scent has evolved to entice specialized pollinators, and arguably mankind in many cases, to ensure the successful propagation of its species. Recent proteomic approaches have identified protein candidates related to these flower traits, which has shed light on a number of previously unknown mechanisms underlying these traits. This review article provides a comprehensive overview of the latest advances in proteomic research in floral biology according to the order of flower structure, from corolla to male and female reproductive organs. It summarizes mainstream proteomic methods for plant research and recent improvements on two dimensional gel electrophoresis and gel-free workflows for both peptide level and protein level analysis. The recent advances in sequencing technologies provide a new paradigm for the ever-increasing genome and transcriptome information on many organisms. It is now possible to integrate genomic and transcriptomic data with proteomic results for large-scale protein characterization, so that a global understanding of the complex molecular networks in flower biology can be readily achieved. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Plant Proteomics--a bridge between fundamental processes and crop production, edited by Dr. Hans-Peter Mock.
authors.affiliation: Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shiqiao Road 139, Hangzhou 310021, PR China; International Atomic Energy Agency Collaborating Center, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310029, PR China. Electronic address: lixiaobai@mail.zaas.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Xiaobai
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Stuttgart, AR 72160, USA.
authors.forename: Aaron
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jackson
authors.affiliation: Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shiqiao Road 139, Hangzhou 310021, PR China. Electronic address: Xieming1957@aliyun.com.
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: International Atomic Energy Agency Collaborating Center, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310029, PR China.
authors.forename: Dianxing
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Tropical Plant Sciences, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 701, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Wen-Chieh
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Tsai
authors.affiliation: Proteomics and Mass Spectrometry Facility, Cornell University, New York 14853, USA.
authors.forename: Sheng
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D035264:Flowers / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D010944:Plants / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D040901:Proteomics / Q000379:methods*; D019655:Quantitative Trait, Heritable
chemical_list: D010940:Plant Proteins
keywords: Flower organ; Gel-based; Gel-free; Proteomics