Summary
Legumin and vicilin were purified from seeds of Vicia faba L. var. Scuro, characterized in different electrophoretic systems, and used to produce polyclonal antibodies in rabbits. Two-dimensional electrophoretic studies showed a wide range of heterogeneity in the subunits of both legumin and vicilin. Legumin was found to be composed of 29 disulphide-linked subunit pairs with different molecular weight and/or isoelectric point. Western blot analysis of legumin of several mutants revealed molecular polymorphism based on a corresponding gene family. Three different α-major legumin patterns were found, and inheritance studies showed that the 34.3-kD legumin polypeptide is the product of one locus, Lg-1α, which is the first legumin genetic locus described in Vicia faba. Vicilin was found to be composed of as many as 59 subunits distributed in a molecular weight range of 65.7 to 42.8 kD (major polypeptides) and 37.2 to 15.2 kD (minor polypeptides), with different isoelectric points. A model is proposed that explains the possible formation of the minor subunits and the major subunits of 48.2 and 46 kD molecular weight (MW) from proteolytic cleavages and/or glycosilation of precursor polypeptides. Ten different vicilin electrophoretic patterns were observed among the analyzed accessions, which showed large molecular polymorphism that proved to be under genetic control.
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Communicated by F. Salamini
Contribution no. 55 from the Center of Vegetable Breeding, Portici, Italy
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Tucci, M., Capparelli, R., Costa, A. et al. Molecular heterogeneity and genetics of Vicia faba seed storage proteins. Theoret. Appl. Genetics 81, 50–58 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00226111
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00226111