Phosphoproteomic analysis of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) reveals starch and sucrose metabolism functions during bolting induced by high temperature

High temperatures induce early bolting in lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.), which decreases both quality and production. However, knowledge of the molecular mechanism underlying high temperature promotes premature bolting is lacking. In this study, we compared lettuce during the bolting period induced by high temperatures (33/25 °C, day/night) to which raised under controlled temperatures (20/13 °C, day/night) using iTRAQ-based phosphoproteomic analysis. A total of 3,814 phosphorylation sites located on 1,766 phosphopeptides from 987 phosphoproteins were identified after high-temperature treatment,among which 217 phosphoproteins significantly changed their expression abundance (116 upregulated and 101 downregulated). Most phosphoproteins for which the abundance was altered were associated with the metabolic process, with the main molecular functions were catalytic activity and transporter activity. Regarding the functional pathway, starch and sucrose metabolism was the mainly enriched signaling pathways. Hence, high temperature influenced phosphoprotein activity, especially that associated with starch and sucrose metabolism. We suspected that the lettuce shorten its growth cycle and reduce vegetative growth owing to changes in the contents of starch and soluble sugar after high temperature stress, which then led to early bolting/flowering. These findings improve our understanding of the regulatory molecular mechanisms involved in lettuce bolting.