• Technology
    • Resources
  • Company
  • Collaborate
  • Careers
  • Investors
    • News & Events
      • News Releases
      • Events
      • Presentations
    • Stock Information
      • Stock Quote & Chart
    • Corporate Governance
      • Documents & Charters
      • Leadership
      • Board of Directors
      • Committee Composition
    • Financial Information
      • SEC Filings
    • IR Resources
      • FAQs
      • Email Alerts
      • Contact IR
  • Blog
  • Contact
Nautilus Biotechnology
  • Technology
    • Resources
  • Company
  • Collaborate
  • Careers
  • Investors
    • News & Events
    • Stock Information
    • Corporate Governance
    • Financial Information
    • IR Resources
  • Blog
  • Contact

Applications of proteomics in agriculture: Plant-microbiome interactions

June 22, 2023
Tyler Ford
LinkedInTwitter

Image portraying the impacts of plant-microbiome interactions. On the left side of the image there is a green, leafy plant. Arrows come from the plant and point to protein structures to indicate that proteins are produced by the plant. Arrows from the proteins to the a series of bacteria show that the proteins affect bacteria through such activities as modulating stress response, providing nutrients to the bacteria, and increasing bacterial production of nutrients needed by the plant. Arrows from the bacteria to more protein structures indicate that proteins are also produced by the bacteria. Arrows from the proteins back to the plant show that these proteins influence the plant through such activities as promoting growth, improving nutrient and water update, enhancing tolerance to biotic and abiotic stress, and providing resistance to pests and pathogens.

 

The everyday biological activities that sustain life are predominantly carried out by proteins. That’s as true in plants as it is in animals. Given that proteomics is the study of the entire set of proteins, or proteome, present in a cell, tissue, or organism, it’s no surprise there are many proteomics applications in agriculture.

 

At a very broad level, proteomics can provide insights into the molecular mechanisms that govern the growth, development, and overall physiology of any organism. In plants, proteomics has been used to study protein expression patterns in different organs, tissues, and developmental stages, and to identify the molecular mechanisms underlying plant responses to environmental stimuli like light, temperature, and water availability.

 

In recent years, the applications of proteomics have increasingly extended to improving crop protection and productivity, developing disease resistant crop varieties, and enhancing tolerance to environmental stresses like drought and heat. With new proteomics tools, these applications may be set to expand even more.

 

Next-generation proteomics tools like the Nautilus Proteome Analysis Platform are designed to enable faster, more sensitive studies of the proteome, uncovering low-abundance proteins that were previously missed, making it possible to identify relevant biomarkers for disease, and more. Proteomics is revolutionizing human health with applications that include biomarker discovery, improving cancer care, and taking on healthcare disparities. The world of agriculture, where proteins are equally important, will be no different.

 

This is the first in our three-part series on the Applications of Proteomics in Agriculture. We will discuss how proteins help plants partner with symbiotic microbes to store nutrients, maintain health, and more.

 

Applications of proteomics in studying plant-microbiome interactions

The collection of microorganisms that live on and in plants, the plant microbiome, is known to play a variety of roles in plant physiology. From nutrient acquisition, to pathogen defense, to directing growth, the microbiome has many roles to play. However, scientists do not have a great understanding of plant-microbiome interactions at the molecular level. Proteomics studies can provide researchers with a much deeper understanding of these processes.

 

For example, one proteomics application in plant science and agriculture is unraveling the interactions between plant roots and nitrogen-fixing bacteria, which provide a natural source of fertilizer for many plants. Using proteomics, researchers have identified and characterized novel proteins and revealed post-translational modifications that play a critical role in mediating symbiotic plant-microbe interactions. Plant proteins modulate stress responses, increase production of nutrients used by the microorganisms, and up-regulate nitrogen fixation by the microbes. By understanding these proteins, researchers may be able to enhance and expand the use of nitrogen-fixing microbes to improve the efficiency of crop production across the world.

 

Other effects of plant-microbiome interactions

Bacteria do much more than provide nitrogen to plants — they can improve plant health by activating proteins associated with environmental stress tolerance, metabolism, pathogen resistance, and the production of specialized plant compounds.

 

These beneficial microbes ultimately help plants in a variety of ways including:

 

  • Pathogen defense – Rhizobium etli is a symbiotic bacteria that increases disease resistance in common beans like kidney, pinto, and navy beans. Communication between etli and the host plant seems to prime the plant defense response, leading to faster and stronger reinforcement of plant cell walls, and strengthening defenses against the bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv. Phaseolicola.

 

  • Plant growth – Sinorhizobium meliloti helps increase growth in rice plants by producing phytohormones including auxin, cytokinin, gibberellin, and brassinosteroid.

 

  • Environmental stress protection – The bacteria Sinorhizobium meliloti improves drought tolerance in the legume Medicago truncatula by delaying leaf senescence, changing the distribution of carbon in plant leaves, and enhancing production of compounds that help retain water.

 

While scientists have begun exploring which proteins are involved in these interactions, there are undoubtedly many more to discover. Overall, there are broad physiological changes associated with plant-microbiome interactions. These involve impacts on plant cell physiology, hormone signaling, metabolism, and stress responses. Only techniques like those of next generation proteomics can match the scale of these physiological effects and truly enable us to understand beneficial plant-microbiome interactions.

 

As the proteomics revolution progresses with new and better tools, more of these proteins will come to light, paving the way for techniques that encourage new and improved plant-microbe interactions.

 

In part two of our Applications of Proteomics in Agriculture series, we’ll discuss how proteomics is advancing research into plant stress tolerance.

Browse by topic

  • Nautilus in the News
  • Events
  • Research and Collaborations
  • Applications of Proteomics
  • Nautilus and our Platform
  • Proteomics
  • Life at Nautilus
  • Industry Interviews
SUBSCRIBE
Back To Blog

Nautilus Biotechnology

 

Corporate Headquarters
2701 Eastlake Avenue East
Seattle, WA 98102

 

Research Headquarters
835 Industrial Road, Suite 200
San Carlos, CA 94070

 

     

+1 (206) 333-2001

© 2023 Nautilus Biotechnology Inc.
All Rights Reserved.

Privacy Policy | Terms of Use

We use cookies in order to continually improve your experience on our website. By clicking “Accept cookies” or clicking on any content on our site, you are consenting to our use of cookies as described in our Privacy Policy. You can opt-out if you wish. Accept Reject All
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT