Changes in proteome and protein carbonylation in potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) under single and combined abiotic stresses

Environmental stresses are one of the main factors limiting plant production. In the era of a changing climate, more crop areas are exposed to drought and heat. The potato is one of the key plants for ensuring food security in the world, but at the same time, it is susceptible to environmental stresses. Our research aimed to investigate the response of potato to drought, increased temperature, and a combination of these stresses at the proteomic level. We also examined physiological parameters such as relative water content, assimilation surface and yield, as well as biochemical parameters such as the content of carbonylated proteins or 20 S proteasome activity. Our results demonstrated that abiotic stressors significantly affected photosynthesis and carbohydrate metabolism in potato plants. All tested treatments activated a series of proteins involved in the stress response, many of which were associated with chloroplasts. The responses to drought, high temperature, and their combination were distinct. Among these factors, high temperature exhibited the least detrimental effect on potato metabolism, which correlated with the absence of significant yield loss. Furthermore, the response to the combined stress closely mirrored the response to drought alone, suggesting that drought was the primary stressor influencing metabolic changes.