Integrative analysis of the nuclear proteome in Pinus radiata reveals thermopriming coupled to epigenetic regulation

Despite it being an important issue in the context of climate change, for most plant species it is not currently known how abiotic stresses affect nuclear proteomes and mediate memory effects. This study examines how Pinus radiata nuclei respond, adapt, ‘remember’, and ‘learn’ from heat stress. Seedlings were heat-stressed at 45 °C for 10 d and then allowed to recover. Nuclear proteins were isolated and quantified by nLC-MS/MS, the dynamics of tissue DNA methylation were examined, and the potential acquired memory was analysed in recovered plants. In an additional experiment, the expression of key gene genes was also quantified. Specific nuclear heat-responsive proteins were identified, and their biological roles were evaluated using a systems biology approach. In addition to heat-shock proteins, several clusters involved in regulation processes were discovered, such as epigenomic-driven gene regulation, some transcription factors, and a variety of RNA-associated functions. Nuclei exhibited differential proteome profiles across the phases of the experiment, with histone H2A and methyl cycle enzymes in particular being accumulated in the recovery step. A thermopriming effect was possibly linked to H2A abundance and over-accumulation of spliceosome elements in recovered P. radiata plants. The results suggest that epigenetic mechanisms play a key role in heat-stress tolerance and priming mechanisms.