Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

2S albumin gene expression in castor plant (Ricinus communis L.)

  • Published:
Journal of the American Oil Chemists' Society

Abstract

In the castor plant (Ricinus communis L.), 2S albumins are highly allergenic seed proteins and are detrimental to the reintroduction of castor as a U.S. crop. Others have shown that the two 2S albumins are encoded by a single gene and processed from a precursor protein in castor. Little is known about the expression pattern of the 2S albumin gene. As part of a genetic approach to eliminating 2S albumin from castor, we investigated the developmental expression of this gene in castor seed. To assess seed developmental age quickly and accurately, we established a set of simple criteria, which included two visual markers, seed coat color and endosperm volume, and defined three phases that encompass the course of castor seed development. Northern analysis indicated that the 2S albumin mRNA is highly abundant in the mid-phase of seed development. A comparison of 2S albumin genomic DNA and cDNA clones from two castor cultivars indicated that only a single gene is expressed. Protein domain sequence analysis revealed that castor 2S albumin contains the trypsin/α-amylase inhibitor family domain, suggesting a role for the albumin in insect resistance.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Caupin, H.J., Products from Castor Oil: Past, Present, and Future, in Lipid Technologies and Applications, edited by F.D. Gunstone and F.B. Padley, Marcel Dekker, New York, 1997, pp. 787–795.

    Google Scholar 

  2. Spies, J.R., and E.J. Coulson, The Chemistry of Allergens. VIII. Isolation and Properties of an Active Protein-Polysaccharidic Fraction, CB-1A, from Castor Beans, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 65:1720–1725 (1943).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Panzani, R., Respiratory Castor Bean Dust Allergy in the South of France with Special Reference to Marseilles, Int. Arch. Allergy Appl. Immunol. 11:224–236 (1957).

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Thorpe, S.C., D.M. Kemeny, R.C. Panzani, B. McGurl, and M. Lord, Allergy to Castor Bean. II. Identification of the Major Allergens in Castor Bean Seeds, J. Allergy Clin. Immunol. 82:67–72 (1988).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Youle, R.J., and A.H.C. Huang, Albumin Storage Proteins in the Protein Bodies of Castor Bean, Plant Physiol. 61:13–16 (1978).

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Machado, O.L., and J.G. Silva, Jr., An Allergenic 2S Storage Protein from Ricinus communis Seeds Which Is a Part of the 2S Albumin Precursor Predicted by c-DNA Data, Braz. J. Med. Biol. Res. 25:567–582 (1992).

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Sharief, F.S., and S.S. Li, Amino Acid Sequence of Small and Large Subunits of Seed Storage Protein from Ricinus communis, J. Biol. Chem. 257:14753–14759 (1982).

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Irwin, S.D., J.N. Keen, J.B. Findlay, and J.M. Lord, The Ricinus communis 2S Albumin Precursor: A Single Preproprotein May Be Processed into Two Different Heterodimeric Storage Proteins, Mol. Gen. Genet. 222:400–408 (1990).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Irwin, S.D., and J.M. Lord, Nucleotide Sequence of a Ricinus communis 2S Albumin Precursor Gene, Nucleic Acids Res. 18: 5890 (1990).

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. da Silva, J.G., Jr., O.L. Machado, C. Izumi, J.C. Padovan, B.T. Chait, U.A. Mirza, and L.J. Greene, Amino Acid Sequence of a New 2S Albumin from Ricinus communis Which Is Part of a 29-kDa Precursor Protein, Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 336:10–18 (1996).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Bashir, M.E., I. Hubatsch, H.P. Leinenbach, M. Zeppezauer, R.C. Panzani, and I.H. Hussein, Rio c 1 and Ric c 3, the Allergenic 2S Albumin Storage Proteins of Ricinus communis: Complete Primary Structures and Phylogenetic Relationships, Int. Arch. Allergy Immunol. 115:73–82 (1998).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Sambrook, J., E.F. Fritsch, and T. Maniatis, Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual, Cold Springs Harbor Laboratory, New York, 1989, pp. 7.3–7.23.

    Google Scholar 

  13. Walbot, V., M. Clutter, and I.M. Sussex, Reproductive Development and Embryogeny in Phaseolus, Phytomorphology 22:59–68 (1972).

    Google Scholar 

  14. Sun, S.M., M.A. Mutschler, F.A. Bliss, and T.C. Hall, Protein Synthesis and Accumulation in Bean Cotyledons During Growth, Plant Physiol. 61:918–923 (1978).

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Greenwood, J.S., and J.D. Bewley, Seed Development in Ricinus communis (castor bean). I. Descriptive Morphology, Can. J. Bot. 60:1751–1760 (1981).

    Google Scholar 

  16. Blundy, K.S., M.A. Blundy, and M.L. Crouch, Differential Expression of Members of the Napin Storage Protein Gene Family During Embryogenesis in Brassica napus, Plant Mol. Biol. 17: 1099–1104 (1991).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Guerche, P., C. Tire, F.G. De Sa, A. De Clercq, M. Van Montagu, and E. Krebbers, Differential Expression of the Arabidopsis 2S Albumin Genes and the Effect of Increasing Gene Family Size, Plant Cell 2:469–478 (1990).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Youle, R.J., and A.H.C. Huang, Evidence That Castor Bean Allergens Are Storage Proteins in the Protein Bodies of Castor Bean, Plant Physiol. 61:1040–1042 (1978).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Roberts, L.M., and J.M. Lord, Protein Biosynthetic Capacity in the Endosperm Tissue of Ripening Castor Bean Seeds, Planta 152:420–427 (1981).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Dickinson, C.D., R.P. Evans, and N.C. Nielsen, RY Repeats Are Conserved in the 5′-Flanking Regions of Legume Seed-Protein genes, Nucleic Acids Res. 16:371 (1988).

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Stalberg, K., M. Ellerstom, I. Ezcurra, S. Ablov, and L. Rask, Disruption of an Overlapping E-box/ABRE Motif Abolished High Transcription of the napA Storage-Protein Promoter in Transgenic Brassica napus Seeds, Planta 199:515–519 (1996).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Chen, Z.L., S. Naito, I. Nakamura, and R.N. Beachy, Regulated Expression of Genes Encoding Soybean Beta-Conglycinins in Transgenic Plants, Dev. Genet. 10:112–122 (1989).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Fujiwara, T., and R.N. Beachy, Tissue-Specific and Temporal Regulation of a Beta-Conglycinin Gene: Roles of the RY Repeat and Other cis-Acting Elements, Plant Mol. Biol. 24:261–272 (1994).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Shewry, P.R., and M.J. Pandya The 2S Albumin Storage Proteins, in Seed Proteins, edited by P.R. Shewry and R. Casey, Kluwer Academic, Dordrecht, The Netherlands, 1999, pp. 563–586.

    Google Scholar 

  25. Mandal, S., P. Kundu, B. Roy, and R.K. Mandal, Precursor of the Inactive 2S Seed Storage Protein from the Indian Mustard Brassica juncea Is a Novel Trypsin Inhibitor. Characterization, Post-translational Processing Studies, and Transgenic Expression to Develop Insect-Resistant Plants, J. Biol. Chem. 277: 37161–37168 (2002).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Shewry, P.R., F. Beaudoin, J. Jenkins, S. Griffiths-Jones, and E.N. Mills, Plant Protein Families and Their Relationships to Food Allergy, Biochem. Soc. Trans. 30:906–910, (2002).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Shewrey, P.R., and A.S. Tatham, The Characteristics, Structures and Evolutionary Relationships of Prolamins, in Seed Proteins, edited by P.R. Shewry and R. Casey, Kluwer Academic, Dordrecht, The Netherlands, 1999, pp. 11–33.

    Google Scholar 

  28. Bredehorst, R., and K. David, What Establishes a Protein as an Allergen? J. Chromatogr. B. Biomed. Sci. Appl. 756:33–40 (2001).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Robotham, J.M., S.S. Teuber, S.K. Sathe, and K.H. Roux, Linear IgE Epitope Mapping of the English Walnut (Juglans regia) Major Food Allergen, Jug r 1, J. Allergy. Clin. Immunol. 109: 143–149 (2002).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Pantoja-Uceda, D., M. Bruix, G. Gimenez-Gallego, M. Rico, and J. Santoro, Solution Structure of RicC3, a 2S Albumin Storage Protein from Ricinus communis, Biochemistry 42:13839–13847 (2003).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. Hubbard, T.J., B. Ailey, S.E. Brenner, A.G. Murzin, and C. Chothia, SCOP: A Structural Classification of Proteins Database, Nucleic Acids Res. 27:254–256 (1999).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Western Regional Research Center (WRRC), USDA, ARS, 800 Buchanan St., 94710, Albany, California

    Grace Q. Chen, Xiaohua He, Lucy P. Liao & Thomas A. McKeon

Authors
  1. Grace Q. Chen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Xiaohua He
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Lucy P. Liao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Thomas A. McKeon
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Grace Q. Chen.

About this article

Cite this article

Chen, G.Q., He, X., Liao, L.P. et al. 2S albumin gene expression in castor plant (Ricinus communis L.). J Amer Oil Chem Soc 81, 867–872 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11746-004-0993-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11746-004-0993-5

Key Words

Search

Navigation