Chinese scientists have recently, for the first time, systematically identifyied N-glycosylated proteins in rice  using click chemistry, offering new insights into the functions of proteins that are essential for improving rice yields and quality.

The research team, led by Prof. LI Jiayang, a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) from the CAS Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, collaborated with Prof. CHEN Xing from Peking University. Their findings were published in Molecular & Cellular Proteomics.

N-glycosylation is a widespread and crucial post-translational modification that influences key processes such as root development, tillering, and grain weight, thereby playing a vital role in rice growth and yield. However, progress in understanding the rice N-glycoproteome has been slow due to the complexity of plant N-glycosylation and limitations in identification technologies.

In this study, the researchers combined click chemistry—a highly selective and efficient reaction widely used in organic synthesis, material science, and biological research—with metabolic glycan labeling (MGL) to analyze the N-glycoproteome in rice seedlings.

They enriched N-azidoacetylgalactosamine (GalNAz)-labeled glycoproteins and identified 403 N-glycosylation sites and 673 N-glycosylated proteins through mass spectrometry, including 519 newly identified proteins involved in key biological processes.

The results revealed extensive N-glycosylation of core components in the endoplasmic reticulum-associated degradation (ERAD) pathway, which is crucial for the function of the ERAD-L (lumen) machinery. Further analysis indicated that this N-glycosylation modification is conserved across both plants and animals.

This study not only extends the application of MGL in crop glycoproteomic analysis but also provides valuable resources for research on rice N-glycosylation, opening up new avenues for enhancing rice yields and quality.

This research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the specific research fund of The Innovation Platform for Academicians of Hainan Province, the Hainan Excellent Talent Team, the Basic Research Project of Yazhouwan National Laboratory, and the Xplorer Prize Award.