The Role of Root Tissue Membrane Proteins in Replanting Stress in Rehmannia glutinosa

The perennial herbaceous plant, Rehmannia glutinosa Libosch, is one of traditional Chinese medicines with a long history of cultivation and medicinal use. However, in production of R. glutinosa, replanting disease severely affected its yield and medicinal quality. Replanting disease is the special stress including biotic and abiotic factors. The membrane proteins system plays the important role in process of plants responding to stress factors. In this study, the differentially expressed root tissue membrane proteins between first planted and replanted R. glutinosa were identified through the isobaric tag for relative and absolute quantitation (iTRAQ). As a result, the membrane protein extraction kit could highly effectively extract the membrane proteins from R. glutinosa root tissue. A total of 698 differential membrane proteins between first planted and replanted R. glutinosa were obtained. Functional analysis revealed that the differential membrane proteins were involved in various metabolic pathways, including transport and breakdown, signal transduction, membrane trafficking and environmental response. Two important molecular events that occurred in cellular membrane of replanted R. glutinosa including the imbalance of ROS (Reactive Oxygen Species) metabolism and immune response were identified in this study. When replanted R. glutinosa plants faced the complex environment factors in rhizosphere, the proteins located in cellular membrane were often first activated to response to stress stimulus, resulted in the upregulated expression of a large number of LRR-RLKs (Leucine-rich repeat receptor-like kinases) receptor proteins. Meanwhile, the Ca2+ signal proteins and related receptor proteins transmitted and responded to the replanting stress, which induced severe oxidative stress response in the cell membrane of R. glutinosa, membrane peroxidation, intracellular signal disorder, and eventually produce replanting disease. Our findings provided the theoretical and data foundation for elucidating the key mechanisms associated with replanting stress. © 2021 Friends Science Publishers