Ethylene-promoted adventitious rooting and development of cortical air spaces (aerenchyma) in roots may be adaptive responses to flooding in Zea mays L

Proteins were extracted from wheat meal or flour in 0.1 M acetic acid, 3 M urea and 0.01 M CTAB and fractionated in columns of cross-linked Sepharose in the same solvent. An heterogeneous fraction of high molecular weight eluted from the column which, when reduced and subjected to SDS-polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis, separated into 12 components. Their molecular weights ranged from about 31,500 to 136,000. The unreduced protein was insoluble in salt solutions and aqueous ethanol but soluble in 0.1 M acetic acid and was therefore defined as glutenin. Glutenins of different molecular weight were made up from the same subunits but in different proportions. The ethanol-soluble proteins (gliadins) of the flour were fractionated in Sephadex G-100. The protein component that was excluded from the Sephadex gel, often described as high-molecular-weight gliadin, was shown to contain 8 distinguishable subunits and they had identical mobilities to 8 of the 12 subunits of glutenin.Abbreviations CTAB cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide - SDS sodium dodecyl sulphate - AUC 0.1 M acetic acid, 3 M urea and 0.01 M cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide     

Extraction and composition of rice endosperm glutelin

“Crude” glutelin was prepared from milled rice (Oryza sativa) flour by sequential extraction of the albumin-globulin fraction with 0.5 M NaCl and prolamin with 70% ethanol-0.6% β-mercaptoethanol. The solvent, 0.5% sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS)-0.6% β-mercaptoethanol, extracted 91% of the endosperm glutelin without gelatinizing starch granules, whereas chaotropic solvents such as urea and guanidine caused extensive gelatinization. The S-cyanoethyl glutelin (Ce-glutelin) prepared by SDS extraction of the “crude” glutelin (9.5% protein) of IR480-5-9 rice gave three major subunits with MW 38000, 25000 and 16000 in the ratio 2:1:1 as determined by SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. A similar preparation from “crude” glutelin of a lower protein containing rice had the corresponding subunits in the ratio of 16:3:1. The MW 38000 subunit was unique to glutelin and was not present in C3-albumin-globulin or prolamin; the subunits were only partially purified by SDS Sephadex G-150 gel-filtration. The C3-glutelin was also prepared from a crude glutelin-prolamin preparation from IR480-5-9 by NaOH extractions followed by precipitation at pH 10 and ethanol extraction of the precipitate (C3-glutelin). This preparation had the same three major subunits and in the same ratio as C3-glutelin prepared by the SDS method. The subunits of the former preparation were separated by carboxymethyl Sephadex C-50 chromatography; the MW 38000 subunit eluted between pH 6.2–8.5, the MW 25000 in an impure state at pH values above 9, and the MW 16000 subunit was eluted at pH 8.6—9.2. Amino acid composition of the Ce-glutelin preparations were similar to each other. The MW 38000 and 16000 subunits had lower lysine contents than whole C3-glutelin, whereas the MW 25000 subunit had a higher lysine content.     

Extraction of Wheat Flour Proteins with Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate and Their Molecular Weight Distribution

By extraction of wheat flour with sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) solution at pH 6.8, about 76% of the total flour nitrogen solubilized into clear supernatant. This solvent was more effective for extraction of wheat protein than 0.01 m acetic acid, aluminium lactate-lactic acid buffer (pH 3.1), AUC-solvent (0.1 m acetic acid, 3 m urea and 0.01 m cetyltrimethyl-ammomum bromide) and 3,5-diiodosalicylic acid lithium salt etc. The molecular weight distribution of the SDS-soluble proteins was studied by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and by molecular sieve chromatography on controlled pore glass (CPG–10–500) without prior reduction of disulfide linkages of the proteins. Most of the SDS-soluble proteins had molecular weight of less than 75,000, suggesting single-chained proteins. A small amount of relatively high molecular weight proteins which contained intermolecular disulfide linkages was also detected in the gel of electrophoresis, while high molecular weight protein which did not migrate into gel matrix during electrophoresis without prior reduction of disulfide linkages existed in trace amount in the SDS-soluble fraction.

The SDS-insoluble proteins were almost completely extracted by further extraction with SDS in combination with 2-mercaptoethanol or with mercuric chloride.     

Structural studies of wheat flour glutenin polymers by CD spectroscopy

A dissolution procedure of unreduced glutenin polymers of three wheat flour varieties (WRU 6981, Alisei 1, and Alisei 2) by sonication in the presence of SDS (sodium dodecyl sulphate), after the elimination of albumins, globulins, and gliadins, was achieved, and the molecular weight distribution of glutenin polymers obtained by this method was measured by matrix assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry. A structural study by CD spectroscopy at different temperatures of WRU 6981 glutenin polymer and of 1Ax1 high-M(r) (relative molecular mass) glutenin subunit, which is the only high-M(r) subunit contained in WRU 6981 flour, was undertaken to understand if the information obtained from the single subunit were applicable to the total polymer. CD spectroscopy also has been employed to study the glutenin polymers obtained by Alisei 1 and Alisei 2 wheat flours; Alisei 1 biotype contained 1Bx7 and 1Dx2+1Dy12 high-M(r) subunits, whereas the Alisei 2 biotype contained only 1Bx7 and 1Dy12 subunits. A conformational study was undertaken by CD spectroscopy at different temperatures and in the presence of some chemical denaturant agents, such as urea and sodium dodecyl sulphate, in order to obtain information about their intrinsic stability and to verify if the 1Dx2 subunit presence determined a different structural behavior between Alisei 1 and Alisei 2 polymers. MALDI-TOF mass spectrometric experiments showed that the glutenin polymers molecular weights were in the mass range of 500000-5000000. CD spectra indicated that a single conformational state did not predominate in the temperature range studied but equilibrium between two distinct conformational states existed; moreover, all the changes induced by urea and by SDS followed a multistep transition process.     

Characterization of chromatin from Triticum aestivum

Chromatin was isolated from wheat seedlings using chromatin aggregation in the presence of cations and dispersion in the absence of these cations. The preparation contained some contaminating RNA. The protein, DNA and RNA moieties were separated from each other by ion exchange chromatography on hydroxyapatite in the presence of 5 M urea and 2 M NaCl. The histone and non-histone proteins were subsequently separated on CM-cellulose and the histones partially separated from one another. The various protein fractions were characterized by urea-acetic acid and sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis.     

Isolation OP DNA Prom Yeast by Chromatography on Hydroxyapatite

A simple procedure is described for isolation of purified non degraded total DNA from yeast cells. The procedure involves conversion of the cells into sphero-plasts by enzymatic treatment, lysis of the sphero-plasts in 8 M urea - 0.24 M sodium phosphate buffer -0.01 M EDTA (ethylendiamintetraacetic acid, sodium salt) - 1% SDS (sodium dodecyl sulphate), deproteiniza-tion of the lysate with chloroform-phenol and separation of the DNA from proteins, RNA and other contaminants by hydroxyapatite chromatography. The yield is about 90% of the DNA in the starting material (sphero-plasts).     

Carbohydrate Composition of Variant-Specific Surface Antigen Glycoproteins from Trypanosoma brucei

SYNOPSIS. The carbohydrate of variant-specific surface antigen glycoproteins from bloodstream forms of 13 cloned variants of Trypanosoma brucei was analyzed by gas-liquid chromatography. The glycoproteins contained from 6 to 17% carbohydrate by weight, and all contained the same 4 sugars: mannose, galactose, glucose, and glucosamine (probably as N-acetyl-glucosamine). The glycoprotein from variant 048, strain 427 contained (±20%) 11 mannose, 4 galactose, 4 glucose, and 5 glucosamine residues/mole of glycoprotein (molecular weight 65,000). Glucose was an integral component of the glycoproteins, not dissociable by sodium dodecyl sulphate, 8 M urea, or 1 M acetic acid. Some of the glucose was dissociated by trichloroacetic acid. Most of the glycoproteins formed precipitin bands with concanavalin A in Ouchterlony double diffusion, but none formed such bands with wheat germ agglutinin or Ricinus communis lectin (molecular weight 120,000).     

The binding of sodium dodecyl sulphate to various proteins

1. The binding of sodium dodecyl sulphate to proteins by equilibrium dialysis was investigated. 2. Most of the proteins studied bound 90-100% of their weight of sodium dodecyl sulphate. 3. The glycoproteins studied bound 70-100% of their weight of sodium dodecyl sulphate, calculated in terms of the polypeptide moiety of the molecule. 4. Proteins not containing S.S groups bound about 140% of their weight of sodium dodecyl sulphate. 5. Reduction of four proteins containing S.S groups caused a rise in sodium dodecyl sulphate binding to 140% of the weight of protein. 6. The apparent micellar molecular weights of the protein-sodium dodecyl sulphate complexes were measured by the dye-solubilization method; they were all found to have approximately the same micellar molecular weight (34000-41000) irrespective of the molecular weight of the protein to which they were attached.     

Carbohydrate composition of variant-specific surface antigen glycoproteins from Trypanosoma brucei

The carbohydrate of variant-specific surface antigen glycoproteins from bloodstream forms of 13 cloned variants of Trypanosoma brucei was analyzed by gas-liquid chromatography. The glycoproteins contained from 6 to 17% carbohydrate by weight, and all contained the same 4 sugars: mannose, galactose, glucose, and glucosamine (probably as N-acetylglucosamine). The glycoprotein from variant 048, strain 427 contained (+20%) 11 mannose, 4 galactose, 4 glucose, and 5 glucosamine residues/mole of glycoprotein (molecular weight 65,000). Glucose was an intergral component of the glycoproteins, not dissociable by sodium dodecyl sulphate, 8 M urea, or 1 M acetic acid. Some of the glucose was dissociated by trichloroacetic acid. Most of the glycoproteins formed precipitin with concanavalin A in Ouchterlony double diffusion, but none formed such bands with wheat germ agglutinin or Ricinus communis lectin (molecular weight 120, 000).     

Components of the regular surface array of Aquaspirillum serpens MW5 and their assembly in vitro.

The two-layered regular surface array of Aquaspirillum serpens MW5 was removed from cell envelopes and dissociated into subunits by treatment with 6 M urea. The surface components reassembled onto an outer membrane surface and self-assembled into planar sheets in vitro in the presence of Ca2+ or Sr2+. The two layers were removed sequentially from cell envelopes by a two-step extraction procedure involving initial treatment with a high-pH buffer to remove the outermost surface layer and subsequent treatment with 6 M urea to remove the innermost layer. Analysis by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis showed that the outer and inner layers of the array were composed of two proteins with molecular weights of 125,000 and 150,000, respectively. The two layers assembled sequentially; the 150,000-molecular-weight protein formed an array on an outer membrane surface, and the 125,000-molecular-weight protein required that array as a template for its in vitro assembly.     

Trout sperm chromatin. I. Biochemical and immunological study of the protein composition

Compact sperm chromatin was obtained from mature trout sperm nuclei resistant to sonication and detergent treatments. 0.5 to 2 M NaCl caused a gradual decondensation of this chromatin and the dependence of the percentage of dissociated proteins on the salt concentration indicated cooperativity of the dissociation process. Urea alone was insufficient to decondense the nuclei. The only proteins dissociated from the sperm nuclei by NaCl alone or combined with urea were protamines. Besides protamines, tightly bound nonprotamine proteins resisting high salt-urea extraction were detected in the sperm nucleus. Part of them could be solubilized by 1% sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) and displayed the characteristics of the core histones: they were soluble in 0.25 N H2SO4, their electrophoretic mobilities were similar to those of trout liver core histones, and they shared common antigenic determinants with the latter. The rest of the tightly bound proteins resisted 1% SDS treatment and could be obtained after an extensive digestion of DNA with DNase I. These were nonhistone proteins similar in mobility to the protein triplet characteristic of the lamina-pore complex and an additional high molecular weight protein.     

Calcium-binding proteins in the vorticellid spasmoneme

The proteins of the contractile spasmoneme from Vorticella convallaria, Carcheslium polypinum, and Zoothamnium geniculatum have been extracted in the detergent, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), as well as urea and guanidine hydrochloride (GuCl). After SDS extraction, the molecular weight distribution of the proteins was examined by means of SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Significant amounts of material corresponding to the contractile proteins actin and tubulin are not present. The contractile organelles in the three species examined contain a group of closely related proteins of molecular weight near 20,000, which constitute a major part (40-60%) of the dry mass. The 20,000 mol wt proteins in Zoothamnium bind calcium with high affinity (pK congruent to 6) and are termed "spasmins." By means of urea polyacrylamide gel electrophorsis, it is demonstrated that in Carchesium and Zoothamnium certain spasmin components bind calcium even in the presence of 6 M urea. The binding of calcium in 6 M urea suggests a functional relationship between the spasmins and the calcium-binding proteins of striated muscle which behave similarly. The calcium binding in urea also indicates that the spasmins within a single spasmoneme have different calcium affinities, and this difference in calcium-binding properties may be an important factor in the physiological function of the organelle.     

The effect of cross-links on the mobility of proteins in dodecyl sulphate–polyacrylamide gels

The effect of reduction of intramolecular disulphide bridges on the mobility of proteins in 5% (w/v) polyacrylamide gels in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulphate was investigated. A series of polypeptide polymers, containing up to 68 intramolecular disulphide bridges, was prepared by cross-linking proteins of known structure with glutaraldehyde. These model polypeptides were denatured with heat, sodium dodecyl sulphate and urea, and their mobilities in sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gels compared before and after reduction with dithiothreitol. The mobilities of polypeptides containing no cystine were unaffected by reduction. However, reduction generally decreased the mobilities of polypeptides containing cystine; the extent of this decrease depended on the number of cystine residues originally present in the polypeptide polymer, and on the protein from which the latter was derived. In contrast with their higher oligomers, the monomer of lysozyme and the dimer of ribonuclease increased in mobility after reduction. The reduced polypeptide oligomers formed by reaction with glutaraldehyde were generally found to migrate at a rate significantly faster than was expected from their calculated molecular weights. It was concluded that the use of unreduced proteins and protein aggregates for molecular-weight measurements by the sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide-gel method may give erroneous estimates of the molecular weight of any protein being investigated.     

Solubilization of coat protein from Bacillus thiaminolyticus spores.

Solubilization of spore coat protein of Bacillus thiaminolyticus was investigated using various reagents, and partial characterization of solubilized protein was carried out. Five per cent of the sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) treatment was the most effective for solubilization of coat protein, and 5% SDS + 8 M urea and 0.06 N NaOH were also useful. Acrylamide gel disc electrophoresis indicated that the SDS-soluble fraction mainly consists of a single band of protein and its molecular weight was estimated at about 15,000. The SDS+ urea-soluble fraction comprised two proteins with a molecular weight of 14,500 and 32,000, and an alkali-soluble fraction of 12,000 and 25,000 respectively.     

The procuticle of Drosophila: heterogeneity of urea-soluble proteins.

Proteins, soluble in 7 M urea, 4 M guanidine hydrochloride, or 2% sodium dodecyl sulfate, have been extracted from untanned larval cuticles of Drosophila melanogaster. A major protein fraction, apparent molecular weight 8000 - 10 000, is resolved into eight different components (five major, three minor) by gradient gel electrophoresis under nondenaturing conditions. Proteins extracted in 7 M urea have been resolved by diethylaminoethylcellulose chromatography into five fractions, three of which are greatly enriched for electrophoretically homogeneous proteins. The five fractions have different amino acid compositions. Electrophoretic variants involving four of the five major proteins have been obtained. Preliminary genetic analysis indicates that at least three of the five proteins are specified by separate structural genes.     

Transformation of common wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) with avenin-like b gene improves flour mixing properties

Avenin-like b proteins may contribute to the viscoelastic properties of wheat dough via inter-chain disulphide bonds, due to their rich cysteine residues. In order to clarify the effect of the avenin-like b proteins on the functional properties of wheat flour, the functional and biochemical properties of wheat flour were analyzed in three transgenic wheat lines overexpressing the avenin-like b gene using the sodium dodecyl sulfate sedimentation (SDSS) test, Mixograph and size exclusion-high performance liquid chromatography (SE-HPLC) analysis. The results of the SDSS test and Mixograph analysis demonstrated that the overexpression of avenin-like b proteins in transgenic lines led to significantly increased SDSS volume and improved flour mixing properties. The results of SE-HPLC analysis of the gluten proteins in wheat flour demonstrated that the improvement in transgenic line flour properties was associated with the increased proportion of large polymeric proteins due to the incorporation of overexpressed avenin-like b proteins into the glutenin polymers. These results could help to understand the influence and mechanism of avenin-like b proteins on the functional properties of wheat flour.     

Fish gonadotropin(s). II. Isolation of gonadotropin(s) from chum salmon pituitary glands using affinity chromatography.

A highly purified gonadotropic hormone preparation has been obtained from chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) pituitaries by extraction with ethanolic or aqueous buffer, affinity chromatography on Con A Sepharose and gel filtration on Sephadex G-75 superfine. A purified fraction from Sephadex G-75 averaged 448 mug NIH-LH-S18/mg glycoprotein as measured by the uptake of radiophosphate into chick testes. A total of 1.1 g of salmon gonadotropin (s) (SG)/kg fresh tissue was recovered when the isolation began with an aqueous extraction. Analytical polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (P.A.G.E.) of the purified fraction from Sephadex G-75 displayed a single broad zone in non-dissociating conditions and two bands in 8 M urea. Polyacrylamide gel electrofocusing yielded six sharp bands with an isoelectric point range of 4.38 to 5.05, and four bands with an isoelectric point range of 4.31 to 4.95 in 8 M urea. A molecular weight of 41,000 was determined by gel filtration. A subunit molecular weight of 17,800 +/- 10% was found by P.A.G.E. in 0.1% sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS), suggesting that native SG consists of two subunits. Purified preparations were highly stable in Tris-Cl buffers and retained their activity for several months when stored at -73 degrees C.     

Identification and characterization of mixed disulphide complexes of E apoprotein in high density lipoprotein of subjects with acute alcoholic hepatitis.

Two E apoprotein complexes have been isolated from the plasma high density lipoprotein fraction of patients with alcoholic hepatitis. Both were mixed disulphide complexes and could be dissociated into subunits with β-mercaptoethanol but not with 1% sodium dodecyl sulphate or 8 M urea. One of the complexes (molecular weight 46,000) was identified as an E-AII unit and the other, of molecular weight 106,000 was consistent in properties with an E trimer. The latter has not been described before and the E-AII complex has been reported once previously in plasma of patients with Type III hyperlipo-proteinaemia. It is proposed that the presence of E complexes in abnormal disease states may affect the normal recognition of E monomer by cells thereby altering the subsequent fate of their host lipoproteins and their lipid constituents.     

Association-dissociation of glycinin in urea,guanidine hydrochloride and sodium dodecyl sulphate solutions

The effect of urea, guanidine hydrochloride and sodium dodecyl sulphate on glycinin, the high molecular weight protein fraction from soybean has been investigated by analytical ultracentrifugation. Urea and guanidine hydrochloride dissociate the protein to a ‘2S’ protein through the intermediary 7S and 4S proteins. Howeαer, in sodium dodecyl sulphate the protein directly dissociates to a 2S protein. Analysis of the data by calculation of per cent fraction and S_20,w value indicates that dissociation and denaturation of glycinin occur simultaneously in the presence of the aboαe reagents but to different extents.     

Polypeptide composition of purified QH2:cytochrome c oxidoreductase from beef-heart mitochondria

1. The polypeptide composition of purified QH2: cytochrome c oxidoreductase prepared by three different methods from beef-heart mitochondria has been determined. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of dodecyl sulphate resolves eight intrinsic polypeptide bands; when, in addition, 8 M urea is present and a more highly cross-linked gel is used, the smallest polypeptide band is resolved into three different bands. 2. The identity of several polypeptide bands has been established by fractionation. The two heaviest polypeptides (bands 1 and 2) represent the so-called core proteins, band 3 the hemoprotein of cytochrome b, band 4 the hemoprotein of cytochrome c1, band 5 and Rieske Fe-S protein, band 6 a polypeptide associated with cytochrome c1 and identified with the so-called oxidation factor, and band 7 a polypeptide peptide associated with cytochrome b. 3. The validity of molecular weight estimate for the polypeptides of the enzyme based on their mobility on dodecyl sulphate gels has been examined. The polypeptides of bands 1, 2 and 3 showed anomalous migration rates. The molecular weights of the other polypeptides have been estimated from their relative mobilities on either dodecyl sulphate gels or 8 M urea-dodecyl sulphate gels as 29 000, 24 000, 12 000, 8000, 6000, 5000 and 4000, respectively. 4. The stoicheiometry of the different polypeptides in the intact complex was determined using separate staining factors for the individual polypeptide band.