PROTEOMIC VARIATIONS IN THE COTYLEDONARY HAUSTORIUM AND ENDOSPERM DURING GERMINATION OF MACAÚBA ECOTYPES

Germination of macaúba seeds (Acrocomia sp.) is a process that involves interactions between the cotyledonary haustorium (HC) and the endosperm (E) for the mobilization of reserves. Macaúba ecotypes have distinct morphological and biochemical characteristics. The mobilization of reserves in the seeds of these palms, guided by the development of HC, is an intricate process due to the diversity and abundance of the stored compounds. In this study, we used a proteomic approach to evaluate quantitative changes in the proteome of HC and E along the germination of seeds of macaúba ecotypes (sclerocarp and totai), as well as a hybrid plant between them. The seeds were submitted to the germination induction protocol (BRPI0703180B1) and monitored for 35 days. Sample preparation methods have been optimized for quantitative proteomic analysis by mass spectrometry. The protein profile was analyzed by SDS-PAGE, revealing significant variations between the protein groups in HC and E tissues at different stages of germination (T0 to T35). In T0, 648 proteins were identified, including those associated with the Golgi and vacuoles, with reserve proteins being the most abundant. Throughout germination, in the HC, a progressive increase in protein diversity was observed, with the identification of 3014 proteins in total. From T15 onwards, the activation of crucial metabolic pathways such as the metabolism of sulfur, biotin and fatty acids was noted