LIMITED PROTEOLYSIS OF OAT 11S GLOBULIN BY PAPAIN

Andrei SHUTOV, Angela RUDAKOVA, Natalia KLIMOVA, Natalia LAPTEVA, Ellina MAKAEVA, Karl WILSON* Laboratory of Plant Biochemistry *State University of New York at Binghamton, USA

Abstract

Limited proteolysis was found to occur during papain proteolysis of the oat 11S globulin. The initial limited proteolysis is extremely quick and consists of an N-terminal and C-terminal truncation of α-chains and C-terminal truncation of β-chains. Further on, the α-chain remnants are cleaved into similarly sized N-terminal and C-terminal fragments. Similar pattern of the globulin limited proteolysis was observed during germination of the oat seeds. Functional role of limited proteolysis in degradation of seed 11S globulins is discussed. Keywords: limited proteolysis, seed storage globulin, protein structure, germination.