Abstract
In addition to the cell biology of zein synthesis1,2,we are interested in the genetics of zein structural genes. Initially we had hoped that there might be as few as two gene products. This was based on the fact that when reduced zein polypeptides are separated on the basis of molecular weight on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels two bands are resolved at Mr 19,000 and 22,5002. We have recently separated these two components preparatively and determined the amino terminal sequence for each3. While the two chains have about 30% conserved homology there was no indication of sequence heterogeneity within the first 35 residues of the light chain or the first 25 residues of the heavy chain. In contrast to these results, zein has long been reported to be heterogeneous with respect to charge4. Our own results with isoelectric focusing in the presence of urea and reducing agent indicate that there are usually 3 major components and a varying number of minor ones which differ with respect to charge. However, when the major charge components were separated preparatively on thin layer isoelectric focusing and re-examined on SDS-polyacrylamide gels both heavy and light chains were found in each of the three major bands.
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References
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© 1980 Plenum Press, New York
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Burr, F.A., Burr, B. (1980). The Cloning of Zein Sequences and an Approach to Zein Genetics. In: Leaver, C.J. (eds) Genome Organization and Expression in Plants. NATO Advanced Study Institutes Series, vol 29. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-3051-6_19
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-3051-6_19
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