Identification of low-abundant lipid droplet proteins in seeds and seedlings (Plant Physiol)

The ability of seeds to pack nutrients into dense stable capsules transformed plants’ and animals’ ability to thrive on land (imagine getting through your day without eating any foods derived from seeds or animals that eat seeds). Within many seeds, nutrients are packaged in lipid droplets, with specific proteins such as oleosins instrumental to their formation and stability. Kretzschmar et al. used proteomic approaches to identify low-abundance stage-specific lipid droplet proteins in Arabidopsis seeds. They found several newly-identified lipid-droplet localized proteins, and also created a comprehensive dataset of the lipid-droplet proteome across stages and tissues, with a particular switch noted at the time of seedling establishment when the plant transitions from heterotrophy to photoautotrophy. (Summary by Mary Williams) Plant Physiol. 10.1104/pp.19.01255