Tracking newly synthesised proteins in plants

Protein synthesis rate is distinct from steady-state protein abundance and must be measured independently to understand how cells regulate protein levels and respond to environments. Technologies used to predict or directly quantify protein synthesis include ribosome profiling, radioactive and stable isotope labelling, and bioorthogonal noncanonical amino acid tagging (BONCAT). Here, we emphasise BONCAT's potential in plants, which, when combined with click-chemistry, enables the detection, enrichment, and characterisation of newly synthesised proteins themselves. We summarise lessons from BONCAT applications in cell-free systems, microbes, mammalian cells, and animals and evaluate its potential in plants. Establishing robust BONCAT approaches in plants can advance studies in proteome regulation, stress responses, development, circadian biology, and plant-microbe interactions.