title: Comparative proteomics of leaves found at different stem positions of maize seedlings.
abstract: To better understand the roles of leaves at different stem positions during plant development, we measured the physiological properties of leaves 1-4 on maize seedling stems, and performed a proteomics study to investigate the differences in protein expression in the four leaves using two-dimensional difference gel electrophoresis and tandem mass spectrometry in conjunction with database searching. A total of 167 significantly differentially expressed protein spots were found and identified. Of these, 35% are involved in photosynthesis. By further analysis of the data, we speculated that in leaf 1 the seedling has started to transition from a heterotroph to an autotroph, development of leaf 2 is the time at which the seedling fully transitions from a heterotroph to an autotroph, and leaf maturity was reached only with fully expanded leaves 3 and 4, although there were still some protein expression differences in the two leaves. These results suggest that the different leaves make different contributions to maize seedling growth via modulation of the expression of the photosynthetic proteins. Together, these results provide insight into the roles of the different maize leaves as the plant develops from a heterotroph to an autotroph.
authors.affiliation: Photosynthesis Research Center, Key Laboratory of Photobiology, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiangshan, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yi-Bo
authors.initials: YB
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Resources for Tropical Crops, Institute of Tropical Bioscience and Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Haikou, Hainan, China.
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Cultivation and Tillage of Heilongjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Haerbin, Heilongjiang, China.
authors.forename: Xuan-Liang
authors.initials: XL
authors.lastname: Ge
authors.affiliation: Photosynthesis Research Center, Key Laboratory of Photobiology, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiangshan, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Biligen-Gaowa
authors.initials: BG
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Resources for Tropical Crops, Institute of Tropical Bioscience and Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Haikou, Hainan, China. Electronic address: xchwanghainan@163.com.
authors.forename: Xu-Chu
authors.initials: XC
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Photosynthesis Research Center, Key Laboratory of Photobiology, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiangshan, Beijing, China. Electronic address: wangbc@ibcas.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Bai-Chen
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D015180:Electrophoresis, Gel, Two-Dimensional; D010788:Photosynthesis; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000378:metabolism*; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D018547:Plant Stems / Q000378:metabolism*; D040901:Proteomics / Q000379:methods*; D036226:Seedlings / Q000378:metabolism*; D003313:Zea mays / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D010940:Plant Proteins
keywords: C4 photosynthesis; Leaf position; Proteomics; Tandem mass spectrometry; Two-dimensional difference gel electrophoresis