Changes in ribosomal proteins in wheat embryos in the course of grain development and maturation

Abstract

It was found, by comparing the densitometric profiles of ribosomal proteins of wheat embryos in milk and full grain ripeness, that in the process of development and ripening of caryopses the percentual proportion of low molecular weight proteins increases at the cost of those of high molecular weight. This concerns both acidic and basic proteins. In electrophoretic separation of ribosomal proteins from embryos of fully ripe seeds by the method of two-dimensional electrophoresis the appearance of three new low molecular weight proteins - an acidic one and two basic ones - was observed. These proteins were not found in the embryos of caryopses of milk ripeness. These results indicate that with development and ripening of wheat caryopses new low molecular weight ribosomal proteins are built into the ribosomes in the embryo. These changes are both quantitative and qualitative.