iTRAQ-based proteome profile analysis of superior and inferior Spikelets at early grain filling stage in japonica Rice

BACKGROUND: Large-panicle rice varieties often fail to achieve their yield potential due to poor grain filling of late-flowering inferior spikelets (IS). The physiological and molecular mechanisms of poor IS grain filling, and whether an increase in assimilate supply could regulate protein abundance and consequently improve IS grain filling for japonica rice with large panicles is still partially understood. RESULTS: A field experiment was performed with two spikelet removal treatments at anthesis in the large-panicle japonica rice line W1844, including removal of the top 1/3 of spikelets (T1) and removal of the top 2/3 of spikelets (T2), with no spikelet removal as a control (T0). The size, weight, setting rate, and grain filling rate of IS were significantly increased after spikelet removing. The biological functions of the differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) between superior and inferior spikelets as well as the response of IS to the removal of superior spikelets (SS) were investigated by using iTRAQ at 10 days post anthesis. A total of 159, 87, and 28 DEPs were identified from group A (T0-SS/T0-IS), group B (T0-SS/T2-IS), and group C (T2-IS/T0-IS), respectively. Among these, 104, 63, and 22 proteins were up-regulated, and 55, 24, and 6 proteins were down-regulated, respectively. Approximately half of these DEPs were involved in carbohydrate metabolism (sucrose-to-starch metabolism and energy metabolism) and protein metabolism (protein synthesis, folding, degradation, and storage). CONCLUSIONS: Reduced endosperm cell division and decreased activities of key enzymes associated with sucrose-starch metabolism and nitrogen metabolism are mainly attributed to the poor sink strength of IS. In addition, due to weakened photosynthesis and respiration, IS are unable to obtain a timely supply of materials and energy after fertilization, which might be resulted in the stagnation of IS development. Finally, an increased abundance of 14–3-3 protein in IS could be involved in the inhibition of starch synthesis. The removal of SS contributed to transfer of assimilates to IS and enhanced enzymatic activities of carbon metabolism (sucrose synthase, starch branching enzyme, soluble starch synthase, and pullulanase) and nitrogen metabolism (aspartate amino transferase and alanine amino transferase), promoting starch and protein synthesis in IS. In addition, improvements in energy metabolism (greater abundance of pyrophosphate-fructose 6-phosphate 1-phosphotransferase) might be played a vital role in inducing the initiation of grain filling. These results collectively demonstrate that carbohydrate supply is the main cause of poor IS grain filling. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12870-017-1050-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.