Mitochondrial сomplexome of etiolated pea shoots

Studies into mitochondrial сomplexomes in various organisms provide an insight into the native organization of proteins and metabolic pathways in the organelles of the subject under study. “Complexome” is a relatively recent concept describing the proteome of protein complexes, supercomplexes, and oligomeric proteins. Complexome analysis is performed using current electrophoretic and mass spectrometric techniques, in particular, by two-dimensional electrophoresis (2D BN/SDS-PAGE) in combination with mass spectrometry (MS). Unlike 2D IEF/SDS-PAGE, this method enables analysis of not only hydrophilic proteins of the mitochondrial matrix, but also membrane proteins and their associations, thus expanding the possibilities of studying the organelle proteome. In the present work, the complexome of etiolated pea shoots was studied for the first time using 2D BN/SDS-PAGE followed by MALDI-TOF MS. To this end, 145 protein spots excised from the gel were analyzed; 110 polypeptides were identified and assigned to different functional groups. A densitometric analysis revealed that the major protein group comprised the enzymes of the mitochondrial energy system (1), accounting for an average of 43% of the total polypeptide content. The remaining 57% was primarily distributed among the following functional categories: pyruvate dehydrogenase complex and citric acid cycle (2); amino acid metabolism (3); nucleic acid processing (4); protein folding (5); antioxidant protection (6); carrier proteins (7); other proteins (8); proteins having unknown functions (9). The obtained data indicate the complex organization of the pea proteome. In addition to the enzymes of the OXPHOS system, the proteins of other functional categories are found to form supramolecular structures. It is suggested that the presence of proteins from other cellular compartments may indicate the interaction of mitochondria with the enzymes or structures of corresponding organelles. In general, the obtained data on the pea complexome represent a kind of a mitochondrial “passport” that reflects the native state of the proteome of organelles corresponding to their physiological status.