Abstract
Vromindolines, a family of oat starch-bound proteins responsible for the extremely soft endosperm of this cereal, are characterized by a tryptophan-rich domain and ten conserved cysteine residues, as it was observed in the starch-bound proteins from other cereals, and proved to be specific of the genus Avena. Two-dimensional electrophoresis of vromindolines from different oat species, both cultivated and wild, revealed that they are present in all genomes and ploidy levels, with no major differences in their molecular weight and electrophoretic mobility. PCR amplification and sequencing of genes coding for VIN-2 and VIN-3 indicated that both proteins are strongly conserved across the species analysed. Some differences were found between diploid and polyploid accessions at specific amino acid positions along the protein. In particular the C-genome accessions (A. clauda, A. eriantha, A. ventricosa) differed from the A-genome diploids (A. canariensis, A. damascena, A. longiglumis, A. nuda, A. strigosa) for some peculiar sequences. Tetraploids (A. barbata, A. magna and A. insularis) showed two sequences each for both proteins; the variability observed in them was similar to that found in A. sativa. The characteristics of these genes could help to clarify the genetic relationship among the various species of the genus Avena. Moreover, the knowledge of the genetic control of these proteins represent an important tool for the modulation of oat endosperm texture.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alfieri M, Redaelli R, Taddei F, Pogna NE, Gazza L (2010) Caratteristiche biochimiche ed elettroforetiche di proteine legate all’amido in avena. Dal Seme 3:26–36 (in Italian)
Bhave M, Morris CF (2008) Molecular genetics of puroindolines and related genes: allelic diversity in wheat and other grasses. Plant Mol Biol 66:205–219
Butt MS, Thair-Nadeem M, Khan MKI, Shabir R (2008) Oat: unique among the cereals. Eur J Nutr 47(2):68–79
Corona V, Gazza L, Boggini G, Pogna NE (2001a) Variation in friabilin composition as determined by A-PAGE fractionation and PCR amplification, and its relationship to grain hardness in bread wheat. J Cereal Sci 34:243–250
Corona V, Gazza L, Zanier R, Pogna NE (2001b) A tryptophan-to-arginine change in the tryptophan-rich domain of puroindoline b in five French bread wheat cultivars. J Genet Breed 55:187–189
Dellaporta SL, Wood J, Hicks JB (1983) A plant DNA minipreparation: version II. Plant Mol Biol Rep 1:19–21
Fu Y-B, Williams DJ (2008) AFLP variation in 25 Avena species. Theor Appl Genet 117:333–342
Gazza L (2010) Molecular and biochemical basis of the trait “softness” in the kernel of Avena ssp. PhD Thesis (in Italian). Plant Biotechnology XXII Cycle, University of “la Tuscia”, Viterbo, Italy
Giroux MJ, Morris CF (1997) A glycine to serine change in puroindoline b is associated with grain hardness and low levels of starch-surface friabilin. Theor Appl Genet 95:857–864
Li W-T, Peng Y-Y, Wei Y-M, Baum BR, Zheng Y-L (2009) Relationships among Avena species as revealed by consensus chloroplast simple sequence repeat (ccSSR) markers. Genet Res Crop Evol 56:465–480
Loskutov IG, Rines HW (2011) Avena. In: Kole C (ed) Wild crop relatives: genetic and breeding resources. Vol. 1 Cereals. Springer, Heidelberg
Nikoloudakis N, Katsiotis A (2008) The origin of C-genome and cytoplasm of Avena polyploids. Theor Appl Genet 117:273–281
Peng Y-Y, Wei Y-M, Baum BR, Yan Z-H, Lan X-J, Dai S-F, Zheng Y-L (2010) Phylogenetic inferences in Avena based on analysis of FL intron 2 sequences. Theor Appl Genet 121(5):985–1000
Peterson DM (1992) Composition and nutritional characteristics of oat grain and products. In: Marshall and Sorrells (eds) Oat Science and Technology, Am Soc Agronomy Crop Sci Soc of America, Madison
Redaelli R, Morel M-H, Autran J-C, Pogna NE (1995) Genetic analysis of low Mr glutenin subunits fractionated by two-dimensional electrophoresis (A-PAGE × SDS-PAGE). J Cereal Sci 21:5–13
Redaelli R, Alfieri M, Vaccino P, Gazza L, Taddei F, Gazzelloni G, Galassi E, Pogna NE (2011) Analisi biochimiche, molecolari e tecnologiche di proteine legate all’amido in cariossidi di avena. Risultati del Progetto VROTECH. In: “Evoluzione e rilancio della filiera dei cereali.Biodiversità, sostenibilità, tecnologia e nutrizione”, AISTEC Ed., Roma, pp 36–39 (in Italian)
Tanchak MA, Schernthaner JP, Giband M, Altosaar I (1998) Tryptophanins: isolation and molecular characterization of oat cDNA clones encoding proteins structurally related to puroindoline and wheat grain softness proteins. Plant Sci 137:173–184
Thomas H (1992) Cytogenetics of Avena. In: Marshall HG and Sorrells ME (eds) Oat Science and Technology. Am Soc Agronomy Crop Sci Soc of America, Madison
Zhou M, Robards K, Glenie-Holmes M, Helliwell S (1998) Structure and pasting properties of oat starch. Cereal Chem 75(3):273–281
Acknowledgments
This research was supported by a grant of the Italian Ministry of Agriculture, project VROTECH (D.M. n. 19177-7303-08, 19.12.2008).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Alfieri, M., Gazza, L., Pogna, N.E. et al. Gene sequences of vromindolines in Avena species. Genet Resour Crop Evol 61, 1481–1490 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10722-014-0123-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10722-014-0123-4