Shotgun Proteomic Analysis
of the Mexican Lime Tree
Infected with “<i>Candidatus</i> <i>Phytoplasma
aurantifolia</i>”
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Abstract
Infection of Mexican lime trees (<i>Citrus aurantifolia</i> L.) with the specialized bacterium “<i>Candidatus</i> <i>Phytoplasma aurantifolia</i>” causes witches’
broom disease. Witches’ broom disease has the potential to
cause significant economic losses throughout western Asia and North
Africa. We used label-free quantitative shotgun proteomics to study
changes in the proteome of Mexican lime trees in response to infection
by “<i>Ca</i>. <i>Phytoplasma aurantifolia</i>”. Of 990 proteins present in five replicates of healthy and
infected plants, the abundances of 448 proteins changed significantly
in response to phytoplasma infection. Of these, 274 proteins were
less abundant in infected plants than in healthy plants, and 174 proteins
were more abundant in infected plants than in healthy plants. These
448 proteins were involved in stress response, metabolism, growth
and development, signal transduction, photosynthesis, cell cycle,
and cell wall organization. Our results suggest that proteomic changes
in response to infection by phytoplasmas might support phytoplasma
nutrition by promoting alterations in the host’s sugar metabolism,
cell wall biosynthesis, and expression of defense-related proteins.
Regulation of defense-related pathways suggests that defense compounds
are induced in interactions with susceptible as well as resistant
hosts, with the main differences between the two interactions being
the speed and intensity of the response