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The purification and characterisation of the two forms of soluble starch synthase from developing pea embryos

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Abstract

Soluble starch synthase was purified 10000-fold from developing embryos of pea (Pisum sativum L.). The activity was resolved into two forms which together account for most if not all of the soluble starchsynthase activity in the embryo. The two isoforms differ in their molecular weights but are similar in many other respects. Their kinetic properties are similar, neither isoform is active in the absence of primer, and both are unstable at high temperatures, the activity being abolished by a 20-min incubation at 45° C. Both isoforms are recognised by antibodies raised to the granule-bound starch synthase of pea. Isoform II, which has the same molecular weight (77 kDa) as the granulebound enzyme, is recognised more strongly than Isoform I.

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Abbreviations

DEAE:

diethylaminoethyl

Hepes:

4-(2-hydroxyethyl)-1-piperazineethanesulfonic acid

SDS-PAGE:

sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis

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We are grateful to Professor D.R. Davies, Professor T. ap Rees (Botany Department, University of Cambridge, UK), Dr. S. Raws-thorne, Dr. C. Hedley and Mr. L. Hill for helpful discussions during the preparation of this manuscript and to Dr. C. Hedley for the gift of the pea seeds. We would also like to thank the photography department and the glasshouse staff for their assistance and T. Dalzell for the typing.

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Denyer, K., Smith, A.M. The purification and characterisation of the two forms of soluble starch synthase from developing pea embryos. Planta 186, 609–617 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00198043

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00198043

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