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Surface Localization of Zein Storage Proteins in Starch Granules from Maize Endosperm1
Proteolytic Removal by Thermolysin and in Vitro Cross-Linking of Granule-Associated Polypeptides

Chen Mu-Forster2 and Bruce P. Wasserman*

Department of Food Science, New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, Cook College, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey 08901-8520

Starch granules from maize (Zea mays) contain a characteristic group of polypeptides that are tightly associated with the starch matrix (C. Mu-Forster, R. Huang, J.R. Powers, R.W. Harriman, M. Knight, G.W. Singletary, P.L. Keeling, B.P. Wasserman [1996] Plant Physiol 111: 821-829). Zeins comprise about 50% of the granule-associated proteins, and in this study their spatial distribution within the starch granule was determined. Proteolysis of starch granules at subgelatinization temperatures using the thermophilic protease thermolysin led to selective removal of the zeins, whereas granule-associated proteins of 32 kD or above, including the waxy protein, starch synthase I, and starch-branching enzyme IIb, remained refractory to proteolysis. Granule-associated proteins from maize are therefore composed of two distinct classes, the surface-localized zeins of 10 to 27 kD and the granule-intrinsic proteins of 32 kD or higher. The origin of surface-localized delta -zein was probed by comparing delta -zein levels of starch granules obtained from homogenized whole endosperm with granules isolated from amyloplasts. Starch granules from amyloplasts contained markedly lower levels of delta -zein relative to granules prepared from whole endosperm, thus indicating that delta -zein adheres to granule surfaces after disruption of the amyloplast envelope. Cross-linking experiments show that the zeins are deposited on the granule surface as aggregates. In contrast, the granule-intrinsic proteins are prone to covalent modification, but do not form intermolecular cross-links. We conclude that individual granule intrinsic proteins exist as monomers and are not deposited in the form of multimeric clusters within the starch matrix.

1   This research was supported in part by the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Research Initiative (grant nos. 91-37304-6579 and 95-02531), ExSeed Genetics, the Center for Advanced Food Technology, and the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station with State and Hatch Act Funds.
2   Present address: Monsanto Co., 800 North Lindbergh Boulevard, St. Louis, MO 63167.
*   Corresponding author; e-mail wasserman{at}aesop.rutgers.edu; fax 1-732-932-6776.

Plant Physiol. (1998) 116: 1563-1571
Copyright Clearance Center:   0032-0889/98/116/1563/09
© 1998 American Society of Plant Physiologists




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