Cereal Chem 62:361-365   |  VIEW ARTICLE
A Nomenclature for Zein Polypeptides Based on Isoelectric Focusing and Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis.

C. M. Wilson. Copyright 1985 by the American Association of Cereal Chemists, Inc. 

Isoelectric focusing (IEF) of zein in agarose gels separates zeins from corn endosperms into 30 components from different inbreds. Each inbred exhibits seven to 12 bands useful for comparing inbreds, varieties, and hybrids. A nomenclature based on IEF patterns of six inbreds permits comparisons of the many possible patterns. Closely related inbreds are often very similar, but some differences occur. Some polypeptides are absent in opaque-2 (high-lysine) mutants, and others are extracted only in the presence of reducing agents. Single IEF bands were easily removed, complexed with sodium dodecyl sulfate, and analyzed by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis to indicate estimated molecular masses. A proposed zein nomenclature using IEF and sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis banding patterns is outlined.