Cereal Chem 54:558 - 564.  |  VIEW ARTICLE
Studies on Corn Proteins. XI. Distribution of Lysine During Germination of Normal and Opaque-2 Maize.

B. A. K. Chibber, E. Voicu, E. T. Mertz, and D. V. Glover. Copyright 1977 by the American Association of Cereal Chemists, Inc. 

Levels of total and free (pool) lysine in germinating normal [(OH43+ x B37+) x C103+] and opaque-2 [(OH43 omicron 2 x B37 omicron 2) x C103 omicron 2] maize were monitored over an 11 day period. Germination at 28 C in the dark (without supplemental carbon or nitrogen) was accompanied by an increase in total and free lysine levels in normal maize seedlings while, in opaque-2 seedlings, total lysine declined over an 11 day period, accompanied by an increase in the free lysine pool. Total nitrogen content remained constant in both experiments, while there was a 15% loss in total dry weight over the 11-day period. Both normal and opaque-2 seedlings developed comparable levels of aspartokinase activity which reached a maximum at 10 days post germination. Aspartokinase preparations from both normal and high-lysing maize appeared to be subject to feedback inhibition by lysine.