Proteomic analysis of Selaginella convoluta: can the organ-specific approach provide insights into the orchestrated events in the desiccation tolerance?
Caatinga, Selaginella convoluta, Biosynthesis, Selaginellins, Biflavonoids, Elicitation.
Selaginella convoluta is a lycophyte native from Caatinga biome that belongs to the group of resurrection plants. Selaginella genus, is known to posess a wide diversity of chemically unique molecules, especially those that make up the classes of biflavonoids and selaginellins, the latter being exclusive to their species. The present project aims to study the occurrence of secondary metabolites of pharmaceutical interest in S. convoluta, based on previous proteome data obtained from shoots and roots in desiccation and hydrated situations. Allied to this strategy, it is proposed to use in vitro cultivation and elicitation techniques with abiotic stressors in plants shoots, with a view to better understands the role of secondary metabolites in this specie and in the identification of biotechnological intervention targets to a better obtaining of those metabolites. It also aims to evaluate the in vivo biological potential of the molecules present in the hydrophilic extract from shoots of S. convoluta in the alternative model Zebrafish. The instrumental analysis of the proteome was performed in a UPLC DionexUltimate 3000 system with re-fragmentation of the most intense ions in a linear trap quadrupole mass spectrometer (LTQ), and the treatment of the data was carried out by the PatternLab for Proteomics software. In the phytochemical investigation, the hydromethanolic extract of shoots was partitioned, submited to rotavap and lyophilized. The TLCs were maded on silica gel plates adsorbed to aluminum with a mobile phase composed of n-butanol: acetic acid: water (4: 1: 5 v / v / v). The proteome results emphasize the preparation of the species to tolerate desiccation through coordinated mechanisms of protection and inter-organ signaling. Shoots stand out as the main organ in the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, however it is noticeable the involvement and communication of the plant as a whole in the mobilization of enzymes present in biosynthetic pathways. In this sense, those linked to phenylpropanoid biosynthesis suggest the construction of coumarins and lignins, also showing the enzyme polyphenol oxidase, an important regulator of the phenylpropanoid pathway, as active in the synthesis of these compounds in S. convoluta. Preliminary phytochemical analysis of the hydrophilic extract of S. convoluta detected the presence of metabolites of various classes (Flavonoids, Anthracenes, Coumarins, Tannins, Pigments and Amines) revealing the richness and versatility in structures that, in the absence of many investigations, may represent unprecedented molecules. The presented approaches contribute to the insertion of innovative methods in the study of molecules from Caatinga species, as well as allows the resolution of frontier issues in the study of plant species with a focus on bioactive potential molecule biosynthesis