Crop Proteomics under Abiotic Stress: From Data to Insights

Food security is a major challenge in the present world due to erratic weather and climatic changes. Environmental stress negatively affects plant growth and development which leads to reduced crop yields. Technological advancements have caused remarkable improvements in crop-breeding programs. Proteins have an indispensable role in developing stress resilience and tolerance in crops. Genomic and biotechnological advancements have made the process of crop improvement more accurate and targeted. Proteomic studies provide the information required for such targeted approaches. The crosstalk among cellular components is being analyzed by subcellular proteomics. Additionally, the functional diversity of proteins is being unraveled by post-translational modifications during abiotic stress. The exploration of precise cellular responses and the networking among different cellular organelles help in the prediction of signaling pathways and protein-protein interactions. High-throughput mass-spectrometry-based protein studies are now possible due to incremental advancements in mass-spectrometry techniques, sample protocols, and bioinformatic tools as well as the increasing availability of plant genome sequence information for multiple species. In this review, the key role of proteomic analysis in identifying the abiotic-stress-responsive mechanisms in various crops was summarized. The development and availability of advanced computational tools were discussed in detail. The highly variable protein responses among different crops have provided a wide avenue for molecular-marker-assisted genetic buildup studies to develop smart, high-yielding, and stress-tolerant varieties to cope with food-security challenges.