Cloning of Zein Sequences and an Approach to Zein Genetics

摘要

Examination of internal restriction endonuclease sites of the cloned sequences indicates that there are possibly a minimum of three heavy chain sequences and four light chain sequences. These results are being confirmed by hybridization to restriction cut DNA immobilized on filters, and more extensive restriction mapping of the cloned sequences themselves. If these preliminary results are borne out, the consequences for mutation breeding to improve endosperm protein quality by intervention at the zein structural gene loci become problematical. If there are multiple genes, detection of amino acid substitutions at the various loci and recombination to create multiple substitutions at a given locus would be nearly impossible by conventional techniques. Furthermore, should a method be found to accomplish this goal, and the multiple genes turn out to be unlike, as seems likely, their uniform transfer to inbred backgrounds for the production of hybrid seed adapted to various environments would be very difficult to achieve. (ERA citation 05:004968)