Global proteomic analysis of advanced glycation end products in the Arabidopsis proteome provides evidence for age-related glycation hot spots.

Glycation is a post-translational modification resulting from the interaction of protein amino and guanidino groups with carbonyl compounds. Initially, amino groups react with reducing carbohydrates, yielding Amadori and Heyns compounds. Their further degradation results in formation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs), also originating from α-dicarbonyl products of monosaccharide autoxidation and primary metabolism. In mammals, AGEs are continuously formed during the life of the organism, accumulate in tissues, are well-known markers of aging, and impact age-related tissue stiffening and atherosclerotic changes. However, the role of AGEs in age-related molecular alterations in plants is still unknown. To fill this gap, we present here a comprehensive study of the age-related changes in the Arabidopsis thaliana glycated proteome, including the proteins affected and specific glycation sites therein. We also consider the qualitative and quantitative changes in glycation patterns in terms of the general metabolic background, pathways of AGE formation, and the status of plant anti-oxidative/anti-glycative defense. Although the patterns of glycated proteins were only minimally influenced by plant age, the abundance of 96 AGE sites in 71 proteins was significantly affected in an age-dependent manner and clearly indicated the existence of age-related glycation hot spots in the plant proteome. Homology modeling revealed glutamyl and aspartyl residues in close proximity (less than 5 Å) to these sites in three aging-specific and eight differentially glycated proteins, four of which were modified in catalytic domains. Thus, the sites of glycation hot spots might be defined by protein structure that indicates, at least partly, site-specific character of glycation.

A Snapshot of the Plant Glycated Proteome: STRUCTURAL, FUNCTIONAL, AND MECHANISTIC ASPECTS.

Glycation is the reaction of carbonyl compounds (reducing sugars and α-dicarbonyls) with amino acids, lipids, and proteins, yielding early and advanced glycation end products (AGEs). The AGEs can be formed via degradation of early glycation intermediates (glycoxidation) and by interaction with the products of monosaccharide autoxidation (autoxidative glycosylation). Although formation of these potentially deleterious compounds is well characterized in animal systems and thermally treated foods, only a little information about advanced glycation in plants is available. Thus, the knowledge of the plant AGE patterns and the underlying pathways of their formation are completely missing. To fill this gap, we describe the AGE-modified proteome ofBrassica napusand characterize individual sites of advanced glycation by the methods of liquid chromatography-based bottom-up proteomics. The modification patterns were complex but reproducible: 789 AGE-modified peptides in 772 proteins were detected in two independent experiments. In contrast, only 168 polypeptides contained early glycated lysines, which did not resemble the sites of advanced glycation. Similar observations were made withArabidopsis thaliana The absence of the early glycated precursors of the AGE-modified protein residues indicated autoxidative glycosylation, but not glycoxidation, as the major pathway of AGE formation. To prove this assumption and to identify the potential modifying agents, we estimated the reactivity and glycative potential of plant-derived sugars using a model peptide approach and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry-based techniques. Evaluation of these data sets together with the assessed tissue carbohydrate contents revealed dihydroxyacetone phosphate, glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate, ribulose, erythrose, and sucrose as potential precursors of plant AGEs.

Changes in isovitexin-O-glycosylation during the development of young barley plants.

Phenylpropanoids are a class of plant natural products that have many biological functions, including stress defence. In barley, phenylpropanoids have been described as having protective properties against excess UV-B radiation and have been linked to resistance to pathogens. Although the phenylpropanoid composition of barley has recently been addressed in more detail, the biosynthesis and regulation of this pathway have not been fully established. Barley introgression lines, such as the S42IL-population offer a set of genetically diverse plants that enable the correlation of metabolic data to distinct genetic regions on the barley genome and, subsequently, identification of relevant genes. The phenylpropanoid profiles of the first and third leaf of barley seedlings in Scarlett and four members of the S42IL-population were obtained by LC-MS. Comparison of the leaf profiles revealed a change in the glycosylation pattern of the flavone-6-C-glucoside isovitexin in the elite cultivar Scarlett. The change was characterized by the stepwise decrease in isovitexin-7-O-glucoside (saponarin) and an increase in isovitexin-2″-O-ß-D-glucoside content. The lines S42IL-101-, -177 and -178 were completely devoid of isovitexin-2″-O-ß-D-glucoside. Parallel glucosyltransferase assays were consistent with the observed metabolic patterns. The genetic region responsible for this metabolic effect was located on chromosome 1H between 0.21 and 15.08 cM, encompassing 505 gene candidates in the genome of the sequenced cultivar Morex. Only one of these genes displayed sequence similarity with glucosyltransferases of plant secondary metabolism that possessed the characteristic PSPG motif.