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Hydrophobic Protein Synthesized in the Pod Endocarp Adheres to the Seed Surface1
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Southern Crop Protection and Food Research Centre, 1391 Sandford Street, London, Ontario, Canada N5V 4T3 (M.G., K.K.); Eastern Cereals and Oilseeds Research Centre, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1A 0C6 (S.S.M., B.L.A.M.); and Greenhouse and Processing Crops Research Centre, Harrow, Ontario, Canada N0R 1G0 (R.I.B.) Soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merr.) hydrophobic protein (HPS) is an abundant seed constituent and a potentially hazardous allergen that causes asthma in persons allergic to soybean dust. By analyzing surface extracts of soybean seeds with sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and amino-terminal microsequencing, we determined that large amounts of HPS are deposited on the seed surface. The quantity of HPS present varies among soybean cultivars and is more prevalent on dull-seeded phenotypes. We have also isolated cDNA clones encoding HPS and determined that the preprotein is translated with a membrane-spanning signal sequence and a short hydrophilic domain. Southern analysis indicated that multiple copies of the HPS gene are present in the soybean genome, and that the HPS gene structure is polymorphic among cultivars that differ in seed coat luster. The pattern of HPS gene expression, determined by in situ hybridization and RNA analysis, shows that HPS is synthesized in the endocarp of the inner ovary wall and is deposited on the seed surface during development. This study demonstrates that a seed dust allergen is associated with the seed luster phenotype in soybean and that compositional properties of the seed surface may be altered by manipulating gene expression in the ovary wall. 1 This research was supported in part by a grant from the Ontario Soybean Grower's Marketing Board. * Corresponding author; e-mail gijzenm{at}em.agr.ca; fax 519-457-3997.
Plant Physiol. (1999) 120: 951-960
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