Alterations in the proteome of wheat primary roots after wortmannin application during seed germination

Wortmannin is an efficient inhibitor of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinases that is involved in normal plant growth. In this study, we performed the global proteomic analysis of the effects of wortmannin on wheat primary roots during seed germination. Wortmannin significantly inhibited the growth of wheat primary roots in a macroscopic level, and damaged the fine structure of nucleoli and mitochondria in a microscopic level. In total, 75 differentially accumulated protein (DAP) spots representing 66 unique DAPs were identified by linear two-dimensional electrophoresis and tandem mass spectrometry. These DAPs were mainly related to detoxification and defense response, carbon metabolism, and amino acid metabolism. Principal component analysis indicated that wortmannin significantly induced the proteomic changes between the treatment and control groups. Protein–protein interaction analysis revealed a complex network centralized by the 14-3-3 protein which was significantly upregulated in both transcriptional and translational levels. Furthermore, some key DAPs, such as heat shock-related proteins, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, isocitrate dehydrogenase, 5-methyltetrahydropteroyltriglutamate–homocysteine methyltransferase, and elongation factor, also showed significantly upregulated accumulation, indicating their key roles in cell homeostasis maintenance, energy supply, and protein biosynthesis. Results obtained from this study provided a new insight into the molecular mechanism of wheat primary root in response to wortmannin during seed germination.