Abstract
Maize endosperms accumulate during development a large amount of storage proteins (zeins). The rate of zein accumulation is under the control of several regulatory genes. Two of these, the opaque-2 and opaque-6 mutants, lower the zein level, thus improving the nutritional quality of maize meals. An endosperm protein of Mr 32 000 (b-32) appears to be correlated with the zein level. The b-32 protein is encoded by the opaque-6 gene which, in turn, is activated by opaque-2. We report the purification, amino-acid composition and peptide map of b-32 protein. Furthermore we demonstrate that the protein exists as a monomer likely located in the soluble cytoplasm. As a step towards the isolation of a complementary-DNA clone for b-32 protein, the purification of its corresponding mRNA is described.
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Abbreviations
- b-32:
-
endosperm protein of Mr 32000
- cDNA:
-
complementary DNA
- EDTA:
-
ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid
- O2, O6 :
-
opaque 2, opaque-6 genes
- PMSF:
-
phenylmethylsulfonylfluoride
- RSP:
-
reduced soluble proteins
- SDS-PAGE:
-
sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis
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Di Fonzo, N., Manzocchi, L., Salamini, F. et al. Purification and properties of an endospermic protein of maize associated with the Opaque-2 and Opaque-6 genes. Planta 167, 587–594 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00391237
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00391237