The process of topping elicits many responses in the tobacco plant, including an increase in nicotine biosynthesis, and the secondary growth of roots. Some topping responsive miRNAs and genes have been identified in our previous study, but the mechanism of the tobacco response to topping has not yet been fully elucidated. In this study, topping responsive proteins isolated from tobacco roots were screened using two-dimensional electrophoresis. Of the proteins identified, calreticulin and auxin-responsive protein indole acetic acid (IAA9) were involved in the secondary growth of roots; leucine-rich repeat disease resistance, heat shock protein 70, and farnesyl pyrophosphate synthase 1 were involved in the wounding stress response; and F-box protein played an important role in promoting the ability of nicotine synthesis after topping. In addition, we identified five tobacco bHLH proteins (NtbHLH, NtMYC1a, NtMYC1b, NtMYC2a, and NtMYC2b) related to nicotine biosynthesis. NtMYC2 was suggested to be the main positive transcription factor, with NtbHLH protein being a negative regulator in the jasmonic acid (JA)-mediated activation of nicotine biosynthesis after topping. Tobacco topping activates a comprehensive range of biological processes involving the IAA and JA signaling pathways, and the identification of proteins involved in these processes will improve our understanding of the topping response.
Keywords: nicotine synthesis; physiology response; roots proteome; secondary growth; tobacco; topping.