Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol. 54, No. 384, pp. 985-992,
March 1, 2003
© 2003 Oxford University Press
The micromorphology and protein characterization of rubber particles in Ficus carica, Ficus benghalensis and Hevea brasiliensis
Received 17 September 2002; Accepted 29 November 2002
1 Department of Forest Products and Technology, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Chonnam National University, 300 Yongbong-dong, Buk-gu, Gwangju, 500-757 Korea
2 Division of Applied Plant Science and Agricultural Plant Stress Research Center, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Chonnam National University, 300 Yongbong-dong, Buk-gu, Gwangju, 500-757 Korea
3 Kumho Life and Environmental Science Laboratory, 1 Oryong-dong, Buk-gu, Gwangju, 500-712 Korea
4 To whom correspondence should be addressed at Chonnam National University: Fax: +82 62 530 2047. E-mail: hskang{at}chonnam.chonnam.ac.kr
Abbreviations: CPT, cis-prenyltransferase; CPD, critical point drying; IDP, isopentenyl diphosphate; SEM, scanning electron microscopy; SRPP, small rubber particle protein; TEM, transmission electron microscopy.
Rubber biosynthesis takes place on the surface of rubber particles. These particles are surrounded by a monolayer membrane in which the rubber transferase is anchored. In order to gain better insight into whether rubber particles from different plant species share common structural characteristics, the micromorphology of rubber particles from Ficus carica, Ficus benghalensis, and Hevea brasiliensis was examined by electron microscopy. Rubber particles of all three species were spherical in shape, and the size of rubber particles of H. brasiliensis was much smaller than those of F. carica and F. benghalensis. In addition, investigations were undertaken to compare the cross-reactivity of the antibody raised against either the H. brasiliensis small rubber particle protein (SRPP) which is suggested to be involved in rubber biosynthesis, or the cis-prenyltransferase (CPT) which has an activity similar to rubber transferase. Both western analysis and TEM-immunogold labelling studies showed that rubber particles of F. carica and F. benghalensis do not contain the SRPP. None of the rubber particles in F. carica, F. benghalensis and H. brasiliensis contained the CPT, suggesting that the CPT itself could not catalyse the formation of high molecular weight rubber. These results indicate that rubber particles in the three different plant species investigated share some degree of similarity in architecture, and that the SRPP and CPT themselves are not the core proteins necessary for rubber biosynthesis.
Key words: Electron microscopy, Ficus benghalensis, Ficus carica, Hevea brasiliensis, immunolocalization, micromorphology, rubber particle, rubber particle protein.
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