Breakthrough in plant cell proteomics

By Andi Anderson

Iowa State University scientists have achieved a breakthrough in plant research by developing a method to identify specific proteins within individual plant cells. This advancement, led by Professor Justin Walley and research scientist Christian Montes from the Department of Plant Pathology, Entomology, and Microbiology, was recently published in New Phytologist.

The team demonstrated the feasibility of single-cell proteomics (SCP) by analyzing the proteins in two neighboring root cell types of Arabidopsis thaliana, a model plant species used in research. While single-cell studies have been common in animal research, they have posed challenges in plants due to the tough cell walls. To overcome this, the team used an enzyme to dissolve the plant cell walls, allowing them to extract the protoplast, or living material, inside.

Traditionally, plant cell research has relied on bulk sampling, where mixed cells are analyzed together, often masking differences between individual cell types. This study, however, identified over 3,000 proteins, with nearly 600 proteins being more abundant in one of the two cell types. This finding highlights significant differences between neighboring plant cells, offering new insights into plant biology.

“Our study demonstrates that our SCP approach can identify distinct material within plant cell types, even between neighboring cells,” said Walley. "This is foundational research. It gives us a platform to locate genetic markers that can signal desirable (or not so desirable) traits, important knowledge for tomorrow’s precision breeding.”

The research, which also involved experts from Duke University, has been recognized as a key step in the rapidly advancing field of single-cell proteomics. This study opens up exciting possibilities for plant science, with further discoveries on the horizon. The project received funding from the Plant Sciences Institute at Iowa State University and the Iowa Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station.

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