Control of alpha-Amylase Development in Cotyledons during and following Germination of Mung Bean Seeds

Purification and characterization of alpha-amylase from safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) germinating seeds

alpha-Amylase (alpha-1-4 D-glucan glucanohydrolase EC 3.2.1.1) crude extract was obtained from safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) cotyledons excised from 5-day-old dark grown seedlings. The enzyme was purified by precipitating the crude extract with ammonium sulphate at 20-60% saturation, and then by subjecting this fraction to affinity chromatography on a beta-cyclodextrin-Sepharose 6B column. The active fraction was dialysed and concentrated. An overall purification of about 131 folds with an activity yield of 81.25% was achieved. The molecular mass of purified enzyme determined by SDS-PAGE was 35 kD. When the purified alpha-amylase was subjected to gel electrophoresis followed by negative staining, only one band of active protein was detected. Its maximal activity was in the pH 6.0 and at a temperature of 55 degrees C. This enzyme was activated by Ca(2+) and inhibited by Fe(2+).

Isolation of a cDNA Clone for alpha-Amylase in Mung Bean Cotyledons : Analysis of alpha-Amylase mRNA Levels in Cotyledons during and following Germination of Mung Bean Seeds

A cDNA was isolated that codes for alpha-amylase in mung bean (Vigna radiata) cotyledons, and the nucleotide sequence was determined. The deduced amino acid sequence (421 amino acid residues) is about 65% homologous with those of barley alpha-amylases. By comparing the deduced sequence with the sequence of the purified alpha-amylase, it was inferred that 23 N-terminal amino acids of a nascent polypeptide represent a signal peptide. Northern blot analysis showed that the levels of alpha-amylase mRNA are in parallel with the activities of alpha-amylase synthesis in cotyledons. Under the conditions where the solute leakage from cotyledons is accelerated during imbibition, a rapid increase in the amount of the alpha-amylase mRNA occurs. We postulate that a factor(s) which regulates in an inhibitory manner the alpha-amylase expression at the transcriptional level may be present in dry cotyledons and be removed by leakage.