iTRAQ‐based quantitative proteomic analysis reveals new metabolic pathways of wheat seedling growth under hydrogen peroxide stress

As an abundant ROS, hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) plays pivotal roles in plant growth and development. In this work, we conducted for the first time an iTRAQ‐based quantitative proteomic analysis of wheat seedling growth under different exogenous H 2 O 2 treatments. The growth of seedlings and roots was significantly restrained by increased H 2 O 2 concentration stress. Malondialdehyde, soluble sugar, and proline contents as well as peroxidase activity increased with increasing H 2 O 2 levels. A total of 3 425 proteins were identified by iTRAQ, of which 157 showed differential expression and 44 were newly identified H 2 O 2 ‐responsive proteins. H 2 O 2 ‐responsive proteins were mainly involved in stress/defense/detoxification, signal transduction, and carbohydrate metabolism. It is clear that up‐regulated expression of signal transduction and stress/defence/detoxification‐related proteins under H 2 O 2 stress, such as plasma membrane intrinsic protein 1, fasciclin‐like arabinogalactan protein, and superoxide dismutase, could contribute to H 2 O 2 tolerance of wheat seedlings. Increased gluconeogenesis (phosphoenol‐pyruvate carboxykinase) and decreased pyruvate kinase proteins are potentially related to the higher H 2 O 2 tolerance of wheat seedlings. A metabolic pathway of wheat seedling growth under H 2 O 2 stress is presented.