Abstract
We isolated RNA from pea seeds (Pisum sativum L. var. Alaska) at various stages of germination of pea seeds, synthesized cDNA, and used RT-PCR and western blots to study expressions of major cytoskeleton-associated proteins, 49 kDa apyrase (APY1). Neither APY1 transcript nor protein were detected during imbibition, but appeared after 16 hr germination and then increased sharply with germination time. This result was confirmed using immunohistochemistry, which showed no cells stained with antibody to 49 kDa apyrase earlier than 10 hours, a few cells were stained at 10 hours, while the entire tissue became heavily stained after 16 hours germination. APY2, a paralog of APY1, was also induced after 16 hours germination and increased similarly to APY1, but at much lower levels than APY1. We will discuss this in relation to expression of the major structural cytoskeleton proteins, actin and tubulin, during imbibition and early stages of germination of peas.
