Snapshot of four mature quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) seeds: a shotgun proteomics analysis with emphasis on seed maturation, reserves and early germination

RIZZO, AXEL JOEL; PALACIOS, MARÍA BELÉN; VALE, ELLEN MOURA; ZELADA, ALICIA MERCEDES; SILVEIRA, VANILDO; BURRIEZA, HERNÁN PABLO

Physiology and Molecular Biology of Plants

Springer

Lugar: Londres; Año: 2023 vol. 29 p. 319 - 334

0971-5894

Chenopodium quinoa Willd. is a crop species domesticated over 5000 years ago. This species is highly diverse, with a geographical distribution that covers more than 5000 km from Colombia to Chile, going through a variety of edaphoclimatic conditions. Quinoa grains have great nutritional quality, raising interest at a worldwide level. In this work, by using shotgun proteomics and in silico analysis, we present an overview of mature quinoa seed proteins from a physiological context and considering the process of seed maturation and future seed germination. For this purpose, we selected grains from four contrasting quinoa cultivars (Amarilla de Maranganí, Chadmo, Sajama and Nariño) with different edaphoclimatic and geographical origins. The results give insight on the most important metabolic pathways for mature quinoa seeds including: starch synthesis, protein bodies and lipid bodies composition, reserves and their mobilization, redox homeostasis, and stress related proteins like heat-shock proteins (HSPs) and late embryogenesis abundant proteins (LEAs), as well as evidence for capped and uncapped mRNA translation. LEAs present in our analysis show a specific pattern of expression matching that of other species. Overall, this work presents a complete snapshot of quinoa seeds physiological context, providing a reference point for further studies.