A new candidate protein for high lysine content in wheat grain
2001
Singh, J. | Sharp, P.J. | Skerritt, J.H.
Lysine is the most limiting essential amino acid in cereal grains, so that grain lysine content is important for human nutrition and livestock growth. Translation elongation factor 1alpha (EF-1alpha) from cereal embryo was recently reported to be rich in lysine, and the possibility of using this protein as a marker for feed quality was explored in maize. In this study we used immunochemical methods to investigate the relationship between the content of EF-1alpha and other proteins from wheat germ and lysine content in both hexaploid (bread) wheats and diploid wheat progenitors to the wheat A-genome. The levels of grain lysine, as well as their variation between lines or cultivars, were greater for the diploid wheats. While there was a significant correlation between the levels of EF-1alpha and grain lysine content, the binding of antibodies to a protein of M(r) 37000 showed a higher correlation. This protein was characterised by amino acid sequencing as fructose 1,6-bisphosphate aldolase. The possibility of using fructose 1,6-bisphosphate aldolase as a marker for feed quality and development of a simple ELISA for quantification of lysine in wheat is demonstrated.
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