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ENVIRONMENTAL STRESS AND ADAPTATION TO STRESS

Exploring the Mechanism of Physcomitrella patens Desiccation Tolerance through a Proteomic Strategy^1,[W],[OA]

College of Life Sciences, Capital Normal University, Beijing 100048, China (X.Q.W., W.Z.L., Y.H., T.Y.K., Y.K.H.); Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China (X.Q.W., H.C., T.Y.K., S.H.S.); Department of Energy Plant Research Laboratory, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824(P.F.Y.); Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EA, United Kingdom (Z.L.); and Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708 (Z.M.P.)

The moss Physcomitrella patens has been shown to tolerate abiotic stresses, including salinity, cold, and desiccation. To better understand this plant's mechanism of desiccation tolerance, we have applied cellular and proteomic analyses. Gametophores were desiccated over 1 month to 10% of their original fresh weight. We report that during the course of dehydration, several related processes are set in motion: plasmolysis, chloroplast remodeling, and microtubule depolymerization. Despite the severe desiccation, the membrane system maintains integrity. Through two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and image analysis, we identified 71 proteins as desiccation responsive. Following identification and functional categorization, we found that a majority of the desiccation-responsive proteins were involved in metabolism, cytoskeleton, defense, and signaling. Degradation of cytoskeletal proteins might result in cytoskeletal disassembly and consequent changes in the cell structure. Late embryogenesis abundant proteins and reactive oxygen species-scavenging enzymes are both prominently induced, and they might help to diminish the damage brought by desiccation.

² These authors contributed equally to the article.

The author responsible for distribution of materials integral to the findings presented in this article in accordance with the policy described in the Instructions for Authors (www.plantphysiol.org) is: Yi Kun He (yhe{at}mail.cnu.edu.cn).

^[W] The online version of this article contains Web-only data.

^[OA] Open Access articles can be viewed online without a subscription.

www.plantphysiol.org/cgi/doi/10.1104/pp.108.131714

^* Corresponding author; e-mail yhe{at}mail.cnu.edu.cn.

Received October 25, 2008; accepted January 30, 2009; published February 11, 2009.