Nucleotide sequence analysis of zein mRNAs from maize endosperm

• Published in: The Journal of biological chemistry Vol. 260; no. 30; pp. 16451 - 16459
• Main Authors: Marks, M D, Lindell, J S, Larkins, B A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bethesda, MD Elsevier Inc 25.12.1985; American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
• Subjects: Amino Acid Sequence; Base Sequence; Biological and medical sciences; Cloning, Molecular; DNA - analysis; DNA Restriction Enzymes; Endonucleases; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gene expression; Molecular and cellular biology; Molecular genetics; Molecular Weight; Plants - genetics; RNA, Messenger - genetics; Single-Strand Specific DNA and RNA Endonucleases; Zea mays - genetics; Zein - genetics; Monocotyledones; Storage protein; Zea mays; Molecular structure; Nucleotide sequence; Messenger RNA; Complementary DNA; Gramineae; Angiospermae; Spermatophyta; Endosperm; Zein; Adenylation
• ISSN: 0021-9258; 1083-351X
• DOI: 10.1016/S0021-9258(17)36258-0

A comparison of the DNA and protein sequences of a group of zein cDNA clones reveals that they share extensive sequence homology and probably originated from a common ancestral gene. A comparison of clones corresponding to Mr 22,000 polypeptides shows they are 92% homologous, while five clones corresponding to the Mr 19,000 zeins vary in homology from 75 to 95%. The clones corresponding to the Mr 22,000 proteins are 60-65% homologous to clones encoding the Mr 19,000 zein proteins. A clone corresponding to the Mr 15,000 zein has little homology to either the Mr 22,000 or 19,000 zeins. Clones corresponding to both the Mr 22,000 and 19,000 zeins have two putative polyadenylation signals. S1 nuclease mapping indicates that the first polyadenylation signal following the stop codon is utilized by the Mr 22,000 sequences, while primarily the second polyadenylation signal is utilized by the Mr 19,000 sequences.