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. 2021 Nov 25;10(12):2574.
doi: 10.3390/plants10122574.

Proteomics and Interspecies Interaction Analysis Revealed Abscisic Acid Signalling to Be the Primary Driver for Oil Palm's Response against Red Palm Weevil Infestation

Nazmi Harith-Fadzilah  1 , Su Datt Lam  2   3 , Mohammad Haris-Hussain  4 , Idris Abd Ghani  4 , Zamri Zainal  1 , Johari Jalinas  4 , Maizom Hassan  1
Affiliations

Proteomics and Interspecies Interaction Analysis Revealed Abscisic Acid Signalling to Be the Primary Driver for Oil Palm's Response against Red Palm Weevil Infestation

Nazmi Harith-Fadzilah et al. Plants (Basel). .

Abstract

The red palm weevil (RPW; Rhynchophorus ferrugineus Olivier (Coleoptera Curculionidae)) is an invasive insect pest that is difficult to manage due to its nature of infesting the host palm trees from within. A holistic, molecular-based approach to identify proteins that correlate with RPW infestation could give useful insights into the vital processes that are prevalent to the host's infestation response and identify the potential biomarkers for an early detection technique. Here, a shotgun proteomic analysis was performed on oil palm (Elaeis guineensis; OP) under untreated (control), wounding by drilling (wounded), and artificial larval infestation (infested) conditions at three different time points to characterise the RPW infestation response at three different stages. KEGG pathway enrichment analysis revealed many overlapping pathways between the control, wounded, and infested groups. Further analysis via literature searches narrowed down biologically relevant proteins into categories, which were photosynthesis, growth, and stress response. Overall, the patterns of protein expression suggested abscisic acid (ABA) hormone signalling to be the primary driver of insect herbivory response. Interspecies molecular docking analysis between RPW ligands and OP receptor proteins provided putative interactions that result in ABA signalling activation. Seven proteins were selected as candidate biomarkers for early infestation detection based on their relevance and association with ABA signalling. The MS data are available via ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD028986. This study provided a deeper insight into the mechanism of stress response in OP in order to develop a novel detection method or improve crop management.

Keywords: Elaeis guineensis; Rhynchophorus ferrugineus; herbivory; plant-insect interactions; proteomics; shotgun proteomics.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
UpSet diagram for comparing the differentially-expressed proteins reported among the control and infested comparison (C/I), control and wounded comparison (C/W) and wounded and infested comparison (W/I) groups on the first, third and sixth week post RPW infestation.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Predicted ligand position docking position on phytosulfokine receptor 2 (PSKR2). (A) Predicted docking site highlighted in green mesh surface. (B) GABA ligand binding position (yellow) compared to template ligand (blue). (C) 5-MT ligand binding position (yellow). (D) AAO ligand binding position. (E) PUT ligand binding position. 5-MT: 5-methoxytriptamine; AAO: aminooxyacetic acid; PUT: putrescine.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Molecular interaction among RPW ligands and PSKR2. (A) 3D interaction diagram between GABA (yellow) and PSKR2. (B) 2D interaction diagram between GABA and PSKR2. (C) 3D interaction diagram between 5-MT and PSKR2. (D) 2D interaction diagram between 5-MT and PSKR2. (E) 3D interaction diagram between AAO and PSKR2. (F) 2D interaction diagram between AAO and PSKR2. (G) 3D interaction diagram between PUT and PSKR2. (H) 2D interaction diagram between PUT and PSKR2. 5-MT: 5-methoxytriptamine; AAO: aminooxyacetic acid; PUT: putrescine.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Predicted Red Palm Weevil (RPW) ligand binding position on oil palm’s (OP) Nuclear protein interacting kinase (NIK) protein. (A) predicted ligand docking site highlighted in green mesh surface. (B) GABA ligand binding position (yellow) in comparison to template ligand (blue) (C) PUT ligand binding position (yellow) in comparison to template ligand (blue).GABA: γ-aminobutyric acid; PUT: Putrescine.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Molecular interaction among RPW ligands and NIK. (A) 3D interaction diagram between GABA (yellow) and NIK. (B) 2D interaction diagram between GABA and NIK. (C) 3D interaction diagram between PUT and NIK. (D) 2D interaction diagram between PUT and NIK. GABA: γ-aminobutyric acid; PUT: Putrescine.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Summarised interaction between RPW and OP. (+): increased protein expression; (−): reduced protein expression. PSKR: phytosulfokine receptor; CAB5: chlorophyll ab binding protein; DBR: 2-alkenal reductase (NADP (+)-dependent); DIR2: Dirigent protein 2; DIR19: Dirigent protein 19; HSP16.9: 16.9 kDa class I heat shock protein 2; HSP18: 18.1 kDa class I heat shock protein; HSP22: 22.7 kDa class IV heat shock protein; IF3-2: translation initiation factor IF3-2, chloroplastic isoform X1; NTRB: NADPH-dependent thioredoxin reductase; PDS: 15-cis-phytoene desaturase; PetB: cytochrome b6; PHGPX: probable phospholipid hydroperoxide glutathione peroxidase; PPD6: Psbp domain-containing protein 6; PsaA: photosystem I P700 apoprotein; PsbB: photosystem II CP47 chlorophyll apoprotein; SBT1.2: subtilisin-like protease SBT1.2; TRXM: thioredoxin M-type.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Summary of the RPW infestation experiment.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Method of determining putative interactions. Docking site was predicted using BIOVIA Discovery. Putative interaction is declared when the RPW ligand is positioned close to the template ligand’s binding position and positioned within the predicted docking site. If the RPW ligand is far from the template ligand or positioned outside the predicted docking site, then there is no interaction declared.
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References

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