Abstract
The free sugar fraction of normal and amylose-related mutants of maize has been studied. The mutant waxy, characterized by a starch deprived of amylose, does not differ from the normal maize so far as free sugars are concerned. We report, however, the presence of maltose in waxy extracts, a disaccharide otherwise supposed to be absent in this genotype. Three high-amylose mutants (amylose extender, dull, and sugary-2) can be differentiated on the basis of the content of free sugars: dull and sugary-2 enhance amylose synthesis without inducing the presence of starch amylolytic products, while amylose extender accumulates a large quantity of maltose and maltooligosaccharides with a degree of polymerization between 3 and 8. In developing endosperm of amylose extender an abnormal amylolytic activity may be responsible for the observed abnormalities in free sugars and starch characteristics.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adkins, G. K., Greenwood, C. T., and Hourston, D. J. (1970). Studies on starches of high amylose content. XI. Some physicochemical properties of dispersions of amylose starch, and observation on the nature of high-amylose starches. Cereal Chem. 4713.
Badenhuizen, N. P., and Chandorkar, K. R. (1965). UDPG alpha glucan glucosyltransferase and amylose content of some starches during their development and under various external conditions. Cereal Chem. 4244.
Banks, W., Greenwood, C. T., and Muir, D. D. (1974). Studies on starches of high-amylose content. Stärke 26289.
Cameron, J. W. (1947). Chemico-genetic bases for the reserve carbohydrates in maize endosperm. Genetics 32459.
Catravas, G. N. (1967). New developments in automatic sugar chromatography. In Automation in Analytical Chemistry, Mediad, New York, p. 397.
Cerning, J., and Guilbot, A. (1973). Changes in the carbohydrate composition during development and maturation of the wheat and barley kernel. Cereal Chem. 50220.
Creech, R. G. (1968). Carbohydrate synthesis in maize. Adv. Agron. 20275.
Duncan, D. B. (1955). Multiple range and multiple F tests. Biometrics 111.
Erlander, S. R. (1958). A proposed mechanism for the synthesis of starch from glycogen. Enzymologie 19273.
Frydman, R. B., and Cardini, E. (1966). Distribution of adenosine diphosphate d-glucose-α-1-4-glucan-α-4-glucosyltransferase in higher plant. Biochim. Biophys. Acta 113620.
Geddes, R., and Greenwood, C. T. (1969). Observations on the biosynthesis of the starch granule. Stärke 6148.
Gentinetta, E., Zambello, M., and Salamini, F. (1979). Free sugars in developing maize grain. Cereal Chem. (in press).
John, M., Trenel, G., and Dellweg, H. (1969). Quantitative chromatography of homologous glucose oligomers and other saccharides using polyacrylamide gel. J. Chromatog. 42476.
Jordan, W. S. (1965). Chromatographic analysis the alcohol-soluble sugars isolated from kernels of maize endosperm mutants. Ph.D. thesis, Pennsylvania State University.
Kramer, H. H., and Whistler, R. L. (1949). Quantitative effects of certain genes on the amylose content of corn endosperm starch. Agron. J. 41409.
McGuire, J. P., and Erlander, S. R. (1966). Quantitative isolation and dispersion of starch corn kernels without degradation. Stärke 19337.
Mercier, C. (1973). The fine structure of corn starches of various amylose-percentage: Waxy, normal and amylomaize. Stärke 2578.
Montgomery, E. M., Sexson, K. R., Dimler, R. J., and Senti, F. R. (1964). Physical properties and chemical structure of high-amylose corn starch fractions. Stärke 16345.
Nelson, N. (1944). A photometric adaptation of the Somogy method for the determination of glucose. J. Biol. Chem. 153375.
Nelson, O. E., and Rines, H. W. (1962). The enzymatic deficiency in the waxy mutant of maize. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 9297.
Nelson, O. E., and Tsai, C. Y. (1964). Glucose transfer from adenosine diphosphate-glucose to starch in preparations of waxy seeds. Science 1451194.
Ozbun, J. L., Hawker, J. S., Greenberg, E., Lammel, C., Preiss, J., and Lee, E. Y. C. (1973). Starch synthetase, phosphorylase, ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase and UDP-glucose pyrophosphorylase in developing maize kernel. Plant Physiol. 511.
Ponte, J. G., DeStefanis, V. A., Jr., Titcomb, S. T. (1969). Application of thin-layer chromatography to sugar analysis in cereal based products. Cereal Sci. Today 14100.
Scandalios, J. C. (1966). Amylase isozyme polymorfism in maize. Planta 69244.
Senti, F. R., and Russell, C. R. (1960). High amylose corn starches—Properties and prospects. Tappi 43343.
Shieffer, S., Lee, E. Y. C., and Whelan, W. J. (1973). Multiple forms of starch synthetase in maize varieties as revealed by disc-gel electrophoresis and activity staining. FEBS Lett. 30129.
Sprague, G. F., Brimhall, B., and Hixon, R. M. (1943). Some effects of the waxy gene in corn on properties of the endosperm starch. J. A. Soc. Agron. 35817.
Thivend, P., Mercier, C., and Guilbot, A. (1972). Determination of starch with glucoamylase. VI. General carbohydrate methods. In Whister, R. L., and Miller, J. N. (eds.), Methods in Carbohydrate Chemistry, Academic Press, New York.
Tsai, C. Y. (1974). The function of waxy locus in starch synthesis in maize endosperms. Biochem. Genet. 1183.
Tsai, C. Y., Salamini, F., and Nelson, O. E. (1970). Enzymes of carbohydrate metabolism in the developing endosperm of maize. Plant Physiol. 46299.
Ulmann, M., and Augustat, S. (1958). Die quantitative Bestimmung des Gehaltes an Amylose in Starke nach der “Blauwert”-Methode unter Verwendung des Universalcolorimeters von B. Lange. Z. Anal. Chem. 162337.
Van Handel, B. (1968). Direct microdetermination of sucrose. Anal. Biochem. 22280.
Vineyard, M. L., and Bear, R. P. (1952). Amylose content. Maize Genet. Coop. News Lett. 265.
Whelan, W. J. (1963). Recent advances in starch metabolism. Stärke 15247.
Wolff, I. A., Hofreiter, B. T., Watson, P. R., Deatherage, W. L., and McMasters, M. M. (1955). The structure of a new starch of high amylose content. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 771654.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Gentinetta, E., Salamini, F. Free sugar fraction of the amylose-related mutants of maize. Biochem Genet 17, 405–414 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00498879
Received:
Revised:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00498879