Proteomics study of COI1-regulated proteins in Arabidopsis flower

Jasmonates (JAs) are a new class of plant hormone that regulate expression of diverse genes to mediate various plant responses. The Arabidopsis F-box protein COI1 is required for plant defense and male fertility in JA signal pathway. To further investigate the regulatory role of COI1 in male fertility, we compared the proteomics profiles of Arabidopsis wild type (WT) flowers with coi1-1 mutant male-sterile flowers using two-dimensional difference gel electrophoresis coupled with matrix-assisted laser desoption/ionization-time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Sixteen proteins with potential function in specific biological processes such as metabolism processes and defense/stress responses were differentially expressed in WT and coi1-1 mutant flowers. Verification on a phi class glutathione transferase AtGSTF9, one out of these 16 identified proteins, revealed that the expression of AtGSTF9 was severely downregulated in flowers of coi1-1 mutant compared with that of WT. Further function analyses of these genes would provide new insights into the molecular basis of COI1-regulated male fertility.