Wojciech Majeran

PPDB, the Plant Proteomics Database at Cornell

The Plant Proteomics Database (PPDB; http://ppdb.tc.cornell.edu), launched in 2004, provides an integrated resource for experimentally identified proteins in Arabidopsis and maize (Zea mays). Internal BLAST alignments link maize and Arabidopsis information. Experimental identification is based on in-house mass spectrometry (MS) of cell type-specific proteomes (maize), or specific subcellular proteomes (e.g. chloroplasts, thylakoids, nucleoids) and total leaf proteome samples (maize and Arabidopsis). So far more than 5000 accessions both in maize and Arabidopsis have been identified. In addition, more than 80 published Arabidopsis proteome datasets from subcellular compartments or organs are stored in PPDB and linked to each locus. Using MS-derived information and literature, more than 1500 Arabidopsis proteins have a manually assigned subcellular location, with a strong emphasis on plastid proteins. Additional new features of PPDB include searchable posttranslational modifications and searchable experimental proteotypic peptides and spectral count information for each identified accession based on in-house experiments. Various search methods are provided to extract more than 40 data types for each accession and to extract accessions for different functional categories or curated subcellular localizations. Protein report pages for each accession provide comprehensive overviews, including predicted protein properties, with hyperlinks to the most relevant databases.

Functional differentiation of bundle sheath and mesophyll maize chloroplasts determined by comparative proteomics.

Chloroplasts of maize (Zea mays) leaves differentiate into specific bundle sheath (BS) and mesophyll (M) types to accommodate C4 photosynthesis. Consequences for other plastid functions are not well understood but are addressed here through a quantitative comparative proteome analysis of purified M and BS chloroplast stroma. Three independent techniques were used, including cleavable stable isotope coded affinity tags. Enzymes involved in lipid biosynthesis, nitrogen import, and tetrapyrrole and isoprenoid biosynthesis are preferentially located in the M chloroplasts. By contrast, enzymes involved in starch synthesis and sulfur import preferentially accumulate in BS chloroplasts. The different soluble antioxidative systems, in particular peroxiredoxins, accumulate at higher levels in M chloroplasts. We also observed differential accumulation of proteins involved in expression of plastid-encoded proteins (e.g., EF-Tu, EF-G, and mRNA binding proteins) and thylakoid formation (VIPP1), whereas others were equally distributed. Enzymes related to the C4 shuttle, the carboxylation and regeneration phase of the Calvin cycle, and several regulators (e.g., CP12) distributed as expected. However, enzymes involved in triose phosphate reduction and triose phosphate isomerase are primarily located in the M chloroplasts, indicating that the M-localized triose phosphate shuttle should be viewed as part of the BS-localized Calvin cycle, rather than a parallel pathway.

Consequences of C4 Differentiation for Chloroplast Membrane Proteomes in Maize Mesophyll and Bundle Sheath Cells

Chloroplasts of maize leaves differentiate into specific bundle sheath (BS) and mesophyll (M) types to accommodate C4 photosynthesis. Chloroplasts contain thylakoid and envelope membranes that contain the photosynthetic machineries and transporters but also proteins involved in e.g. protein homeostasis. These chloroplast membranes must be specialized within each cell type to accommodate C4 photosynthesis and regulate metabolic fluxes and activities. This quantitative study determined the differentiated state of BS and M chloroplast thylakoid and envelope membrane proteomes and their oligomeric states using innovative gel-based and mass spectrometry-based protein quantifications. This included native gels, iTRAQ, and label-free quantification using an LTQ-Orbitrap. Subunits of Photosystems I and II, the cytochrome b6f, and ATP synthase complexes showed average BS/M accumulation ratios of 1.6, 0.45, 1.0, and 1.33, respectively, whereas ratios for the light-harvesting complex I and II families were 1.72 and 0.68, respectively. A 1000-kDa BS-specific NAD(P)H dehydrogenase complex with associated proteins of unknown function containing more than 15 proteins was observed; we speculate that this novel complex possibly functions in inorganic carbon concentration when carboxylation rates by ribulose-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase are lower than decarboxylation rates by malic enzyme. Differential accumulation of thylakoid proteases (Egy and DegP), state transition kinases (STN7,8), and Photosystem I and II assembly factors was observed, suggesting that cell-specific photosynthetic electron transport depends on post-translational regulatory mechanisms. BS/M ratios for inner envelope transporters phosphoenolpyruvate/Pi translocator, Dit1, Dit2, and Mex1 were determined and reflect metabolic fluxes in carbon metabolism. A wide variety of hundreds of other proteins showed differential BS/M accumulation. Mass spectral information and functional annotations are available through the Plant Proteome Database. These data are integrated with previous data, resulting in a model for C4 photosynthesis, thereby providing new rationales for metabolic engineering of C4 pathways and targeted analysis of genetic networks that coordinate C4 differentiation.

Structural and Metabolic Transitions of C4 Leaf Development and Differentiation Defined by Microscopy and Quantitative Proteomics in Maize

This study presents a systems analysis of maize C4 leaf development and cell-specific differentiation as well as the leaf sink-source transition and associated changes. Five phases (transitions) of development and differentiation were recognized, and several regulatory and signaling proteins involved with some of these phases identified. C4 grasses, such as maize (Zea mays), have high photosynthetic efficiency through combined biochemical and structural adaptations. C4 photosynthesis is established along the developmental axis of the leaf blade, leading from an undifferentiated leaf base just above the ligule into highly specialized mesophyll cells (MCs) and bundle sheath cells (BSCs) at the tip. To resolve the kinetics of maize leaf development and C4 differentiation and to obtain a systems-level understanding of maize leaf formation, the accumulation profiles of proteomes of the leaf and the isolated BSCs with their vascular bundle along the developmental gradient were determined using large-scale mass spectrometry. This was complemented by extensive qualitative and quantitative microscopy analysis of structural features (e.g., Kranz anatomy, plasmodesmata, cell wall, and organelles). More than 4300 proteins were identified and functionally annotated. Developmental protein accumulation profiles and hierarchical cluster analysis then determined the kinetics of organelle biogenesis, formation of cellular structures, metabolism, and coexpression patterns. Two main expression clusters were observed, each divided in subclusters, suggesting that a limited number of developmental regulatory networks organize concerted protein accumulation along the leaf gradient. The coexpression with BSC and MC markers provided strong candidates for further analysis of C4 specialization, in particular transporters and biogenesis factors. Based on the integrated information, we describe five developmental transitions that provide a conceptual and practical template for further analysis. An online protein expression viewer is provided through the Plant Proteome Database.

Reconstruction of Metabolic Pathways, Protein Expression, and Homeostasis Machineries across Maize Bundle Sheath and Mesophyll Chloroplasts: Large-Scale Quantitative Proteomics Using the First Maize Genome Assembly

Chloroplasts in differentiated bundle sheath (BS) and mesophyll (M) cells of maize (Zea mays) leaves are specialized to accommodate C4 photosynthesis. This study provides a reconstruction of how metabolic pathways, protein expression, and homeostasis functions are quantitatively distributed across BS and M chloroplasts. This yielded new insights into cellular specialization. The experimental analysis was based on high-accuracy mass spectrometry, protein quantification by spectral counting, and the first maize genome assembly. A bioinformatics workflow was developed to deal with gene models, protein families, and gene duplications related to the polyploidy of maize; this avoided overidentification of proteins and resulted in more accurate protein quantification. A total of 1,105 proteins were assigned as potential chloroplast proteins, annotated for function, and quantified. Nearly complete coverage of primary carbon, starch, and tetrapyrole metabolism, as well as excellent coverage for fatty acid synthesis, isoprenoid, sulfur, nitrogen, and amino acid metabolism, was obtained. This showed, for example, quantitative and qualitative cell type-specific specialization in starch biosynthesis, arginine synthesis, nitrogen assimilation, and initial steps in sulfur assimilation. An extensive overview of BS and M chloroplast protein expression and homeostasis machineries (more than 200 proteins) demonstrated qualitative and quantitative differences between M and BS chloroplasts and BS-enhanced levels of the specialized chaperones ClpB3 and HSP90 that suggest active remodeling of the BS proteome. The reconstructed pathways are presented as detailed flow diagrams including annotation, relative protein abundance, and cell-specific expression pattern. Protein annotation and identification data, and projection of matched peptides on the protein models, are available online through the Plant Proteome Database.

Nucleoid-enriched proteomes in developing plastids and chloroplasts from maize leaves; a new conceptual framework for nucleoid functions

Plastids contain multiple copies of the plastid chromosome, folded together with proteins and RNA into nucleoids. The degree to which components of the plastid gene expression and protein biogenesis machineries are nucleoid associated, and the factors involved in plastid DNA organization, repair, and replication, are poorly understood. To provide a conceptual framework for nucleoid function, we characterized the proteomes of highly enriched nucleoid fractions of proplastids and mature chloroplasts isolated from the maize (Zea mays) leaf base and tip, respectively, using mass spectrometry. Quantitative comparisons with proteomes of unfractionated proplastids and chloroplasts facilitated the determination of nucleoid-enriched proteins. This nucleoid-enriched proteome included proteins involved in DNA replication, organization, and repair as well as transcription, mRNA processing, splicing, and editing. Many proteins of unknown function, including pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR), tetratricopeptide repeat (TPR), DnaJ, and mitochondrial transcription factor (mTERF) domain proteins, were identified. Strikingly, 70S ribosome and ribosome assembly factors were strongly overrepresented in nucleoid fractions, but protein chaperones were not. Our analysis strongly suggests that mRNA processing, splicing, and editing, as well as ribosome assembly, take place in association with the nucleoid, suggesting that these processes occur cotranscriptionally. The plastid developmental state did not dramatically change the nucleoid-enriched proteome but did quantitatively shift the predominating function from RNA metabolism in undeveloped plastids to translation and homeostasis in chloroplasts. This study extends the known maize plastid proteome by hundreds of proteins, including more than 40 PPR and mTERF domain proteins, and provides a resource for targeted studies on plastid gene expression. Details of protein identification and annotation are provided in the Plant Proteome Database.

Deregulation of Maize C4 Photosynthetic Development in a Mesophyll Cell-Defective Mutant

During maize (Zea mays) C4 differentiation, mesophyll (M) and bundle sheath (BS) cells accumulate distinct sets of photosynthetic enzymes, with very low photosystem II (PSII) content in BS chloroplasts. Consequently, there is little linear electron transport in the BS and ATP is generated by cyclic electron flow. In contrast, M thylakoids are very similar to those of C3 plants and produce the ATP and NADPH that drive metabolic activities. Regulation of this differentiation process is poorly understood, but involves expression and coordination of nuclear and plastid genomes. Here, we identify a recessive allele of the maize high chlorophyll fluorescence (Hcf136) homolog that in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) functions as a PSII stability or assembly factor located in the thylakoid lumen. Proteome analysis of the thylakoids and electron microscopy reveal that Zmhcf136 lacks PSII complexes and grana thylakoids in M chloroplasts, consistent with the previously defined Arabidopsis function. Interestingly, hcf136 is also defective in processing the full-length psbB-psbT-psbH-petB-petD polycistron specifically in M chloroplasts. To determine whether the loss of PSII in M cells affects C4 differentiation, we performed cell-type-specific transcript analysis of hcf136 and wild-type seedlings. The results indicate that M and BS cells respond uniquely to the loss of PSII, with little overlap in gene expression changes between data sets. These results are discussed in the context of signals that may drive differential gene expression in C4 photosynthesis.

The chloroplast ClpP complex in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii contains an unusual high molecular mass subunit with a large apical domain

The composition of the chloroplast‐localized protease complex, ClpP, from the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii was characterized by nondenaturing electrophoresis, immunoblotting and MS. The detected ClpP complex has a native mass of ≈ 540 kDa, which is ≈ 200 kDa higher than ClpP complexes in higher plant chloroplasts, mitochondria or bacteria. The 540‐kDa ClpP complex contains two nuclear‐encoded ClpP proteins (ClpP3 and P5) and five ClpR (R1, R2, R3, R4 and R6) proteins, as well two proteins, ClpP1L and ClpP1H, both probably derived from the plastid clpP1 gene. ClpP1H is 59 kDa and contains a ≈ 30‐kDa insertion sequence (IS1) not found in other ClpP proteins, responsible for the high MW of the complex. Based on comparison with other sequences, IS1 protrudes as an additional domain on the apical surface of the ClpP/R complex, probably preventing interaction with the HSP100 chaperone. ClpP1L is a 25‐kDa protein similar in size to other ClpP proteins and could arise by post‐translational processing of ClpP1H. Chloramphenicol‐chase experiments show that ClpP1L and ClpP1H have a similar half‐life, indicating that both are stable components of the complex. The structure of the ClpP complex is further discussed in conjunction with a phylogenetic analysis of the ClpP/R genes. A model is proposed for the evolution of the algal and plant complex from its cyanobacterial ancestor.

The Purification of the Chlamydomonas reinhardtii chloroplast ClpP complex: additional subunits and structural features

The ClpP peptidase is a major constituent of the proteolytic machinery of bacteria and organelles. The chloroplast ClpP complex is unusual, in that it associates a large number of subunits, one of which (ClpP1) is encoded in the chloroplast, the others in the nucleus. The complexity of these large hetero-oligomeric complexes has been a major difficulty in their overproduction and biochemical characterization. In this paper, we describe the purification of native chloroplast ClpP complex from the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, using a strain that carries the Strep-tag II at the C-terminus of the ClpP1 subunit. Similar to land plants, the algal complex comprises active and inactive subunits (3 ClpP and 5 ClpR, respectively). Evidence is presented that a sub-complex can be produced by dissociation, comprising ClpP1 and ClpR1, 2, 3 and 4, similar to the ClpR-ring described in land plants. Our Chlamydomonas ClpP preparation also contains two ClpT subunits, ClpT3 and ClpT4, which like the land plant ClpT1 and ClpT2 show 2 Clp-N domains. ClpTs are believed to function in substrate binding and/or assembly of the two heptameric rings. Phylogenetic analysis indicates that ClpT subunits have appeared independently in Chlorophycean algae, in land plants and in dispersed cyanobacterial genomes. Negative staining electron microscopy shows that the Chlamydomonas complex retains the barrel-like shape of homo-oligomeric ClpPs, with 4 additional peripheral masses that we speculate represent either the additional IS1 domain of ClpP1 (a feature unique to algae) or ClpTs or extensions of ClpR subunits.

Multistep Processing of an Insertion Sequence in an Essential Subunit of the Chloroplast ClpP Complex

In Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, the clpP1 chloroplast gene encoding one of the catalytic subunits of the ClpP protease complex contains a large in-frame insertion sequence (IS1). Based on the Escherichia coli ClpP structure, IS1 is predicted to protrude at the apical surface of the complex, likely influencing the interaction of the catalytic core with ClpC/HSP100 chaperones. Immunoblotting with an anti-ClpP1 antibody detected two immunoreactive forms of ClpP1: ClpP1H (59 kDa) and ClpP1L (25 kDa). It has been proposed that IS1 is a new type of protein intron (different from inteins). By studying transformants harboring mutations at the predicted borders of IS1 and tags at the C terminus of ClpP1 (tandem affinity purification tag, His tag, Strep·Tag) or within the IS1 sequence (3-hemagglutinin tag), we show that IS1 is not a protein intron and that ClpP1L results from endoproteolytic cleavage inside IS1. Processing sites have been identified in the middle of IS1 and near its C terminus. The sites can be mutated without abolishing processing.