Project description:Biotic and abiotic stresses are predicted to be the main drivers of forest tree decline and mortality in a climatic change scenario. It occurs, for example, in Quercus ilex, the main component of the Mediterranean forest, becoming a major environmental, economic and social concern. The decline syndrome is the result of factors interrelated in time and space. Breeding, through variability and elite genotype selection, is the only plausible strategy for forest management and conservation in nondomesticated, orphan species as is the case of the genus Quercus. By using a shotgun proteomics approach, the effect and the responses to combined drought stress and pathogen (Phytophthora cinnamomi) have been analyzed in two Holm oak populations with contrasting responses to each individual stress. Proteomics data are correlated with that of plant survival, damage symptoms, leaf chemical composition and physiological phenotypes (water content and photosynthetic activity). Changes in the protein profile depended on the population, stress, and time, with some consistent upaccumulated proteins related to synthesis, primary and secondary metabolism, and cell wall are discussed.
Project description:Holm oak (Quercus ilex) is the most important and representative specie of the Mediterranean forest and of the Spanish agrosilvo-pastoral ecosystem “Dehesa”. Despite its environmental and economic interest, Holm oak is still an orphan species whose biology is very little known, especially at the molecular level. In this research, we have performed a shotgun proteomic approach (nLC-MSMS, Orbitrap) to analyze the Holm oak proteome, using, as starting material, a pool generated by mixing equal amounts of homogenized tissue, including embryo, cotyledons (from mature acorns), and leaves and roots (from 6-month old plantlets grown in a greenhouse under environmental conditions). The proteome generated will be the bases of further studies on population variability, growth, development and responses to stresses in this species.
