Storage Protein Synthesis in Maize

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Abstract
Undegraded free and membrane-bound polysomes were isolated from developing kernels of Zea mays frozen in liquid N. Freezing in liquid N was a prerequisite for preserving polysome structure in stored kernels. Membrane-bound polysomes from 22-day post-pollination kernels ground in high pH buffers containing 50 mM Mg2+ contained unique classes of large polysomes. These large polysomes were sensitive to ribonuclease and electron micrographs verified that they were not formed by aggregation. The membrane-bound polysomes were the principal site of zein synthesis, since the major protein synthesized in vitro was similar to purified zein in its ethanol solubility and mobility on sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gels.