Correct targeting of the bean storage protein phaseolin in the seeds of transformed tobacco

The storage protein phaseolin accumulates during seed development in protein bodies in cotyledons of the common bean Phaseolus vulgaris. Hall et al. (In L Van Vloten-Doting, TC Hall, eds, Molecular Form and Function of the Plant Genome, 1985 Plenum Press, In press) recently reported the expression of a gene coding for phaseolin and the accumulation of phaseolin protein in developing seeds of tobacco plants regenerated from transformed callus cells. The protein did not accumulate in other organs of the plants. Mature seeds from normal and transformed tobacco plants were obtained and the subcellular distribution of phaseolin in the seeds was examined using both light and electron microscopic immunocytochemical methods. Phaseolin was found in six of seven transformed tobacco embryos examined, but was present in only one endosperm of five. When present, phaseolin was located exclusively in the protein bodies of the embryonic and endospermic cells. Furthermore, phaseolin was restricted solely to the amorphous matrix of the protein bodies and was excluded from the globoid and proteinaceous crystalloid components of these organelles. The subcellular location of phaseolin in seeds from transformed tobacco plants is similar to that seen in mature seeds of the common bean indicating that in the transformed cells the protein is targeted to the right subcellular compartment.