The production of recombinant proteins in seeds is achieved by driving transgene expression using promoters and protein targeting sequences derived from genes encoding abundant seed storage proteins. This approach is advantageous because high yields, stability and containment are conferred by the accumulation of recombinant proteins in specialized storage compartments such as protein bodies and...

The ontogeny of seed structure and the accumulation of seed storage substances is the result of a determinant genetic program. Using RNA interference, the synthesis of soybean (Glycine max) glycinin and conglycinin storage proteins has been suppressed. The storage protein knockdown (SP-) seeds are overtly identical to the wild type, maturing to similar size and weight, and in developmental onto...

During seed development and maturation, large amounts of storage proteins are synthesized and deposited in protein storage vacuoles (PSVs). Multiple mechanisms have been proposed to be responsible for transporting storage proteins to PSVs in developing seeds. In this study, a specific antibody was raised against the mung bean (Vigna radiata) seed storage protein 8S globulin and its deposition w...

To understand gene expression networks leading to functional properties and compositional traits of the soybean seed, we have undertaken a detailed examination of soybean seed development from a few days post-fertilization to the mature seed using Illumina high-throughput transcriptome sequencing (RNA-Seq). RNA was sequenced from seven different stages of seed development, yielding between 12 m...

The agronomic performance and storage proteins of high seed protein lines of soybeans [Glycine max L. (Merr.)] were investigated to determine if the two major storage proteins, beta-conglycinin and glycinin, contribute to the increased protein content of high seed protein lines. Subunits of these two major storage proteins were estimated by scanning SDS-PAGE gels by scanning densitometry. The r...

Tobacco seeds show a coat-imposed dormancy in which the seed envelope tissues (testa and endosperm) impose a physical constraint on the radicle protrusion. The germination-limiting process is represented by the endosperm rupture which is induced by cell-wall weakening. Transgenic tobacco seeds, obtained by insertion of exogenous genes codifying for seed-based oral vaccines (F18 and VT2eB), show...

The non-enzymatic modifications of proteins through Amadori and Maillard reactions play an important role in the loss of seed viability during storage. In the present study, the contribution of sugar hydrolysis and lipid peroxidation to Amadori and Maillard reactions, and to seed deterioration was investigated in mung-bean (Vigna radiata Wilczek). The contents of glucose and lipid peroxidation ...

Seed storage proteins are synthesized on rough endoplasmic reticulum (ER) as larger precursors and are sorted to protein storage vacuoles, where they are converted into the mature forms. We report here an Arabidopsis mutant, maigo 1 (mag1), which abnormally accumulates the precursors of two major storage proteins, 12S globulin and 2S albumin, in dry seeds. Electron microscopy revealed that mag1...