Cereal Chem 65:75-80   |  VIEW ARTICLE

Kernel Characteristics and Protein Fraction Changes During Seed Development of High-Lysine and Normal Sorghums.

S. W. VanScoyoc, G. Ejeta, and J. D. Axtell. Copyright 1988 by the American Association of Cereal Chemists, Inc. 

Changes in seed characteristics and the proportions and electrophoretic mobilities of Landry-Moureaux (L- M) endosperm protein fractions of high-lysine opaque and normal sorghums were followed during kernel development. Seed weight and volume increased steadily through 45 days after half-bloom for normal but plateaued a week earlier for opaque. Percentage embryo of whole seed increased similarly for both lines from and average 2.1 to 8.1% during development. Normal endosperm protein declined 0.7% during seed maturation while that of opaque increased 1.2%. L-M fraction I (albumins and globulins) differed little among lines. Fraction II plus III (total kafirin) accumulation in opaque plateaued two weeks before normal, whereas fraction IV plus V (total glutelin) increased more rapidly in opaque than normal endosperms. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of endosperm protein fractions showed few or no differences in banding patterns. It is concluded that the opaque gene (O) manifests itself in a pleiotropic manner with respect to endosperm proteins through quantitative rather than qualitative shifts in major fractions. The enhanced lysine content of opaque results primarily from an increase in relatively lysine-rich glutelins and decrease in lysine-deficient kafirins.