title: Lunasin in wheat: a chemical and molecular study on its presence or absence.
abstract: Lunasin is a peptide whose anticancer properties are widely reported. Originally isolated from soybean seeds, lunasin was also found in cereal (wheat, rye, barley and Triticale), Solanum and amaranthus seeds. However, it was recently reported that searches of transcript and DNA sequence databases for wheat and other cereals failed to identify sequences with similarity to those encoding the lunasin peptide in soy. In order to clarify the presence or absence of lunasin in wheat varieties, a broad investigation based on chemical (LC-ESI-MS) and molecular (PCR) analyses was conducted. Both approaches pointed out the absence of lunasin in the investigated wheat genotypes; in particular no compounds with a molecular weight similar to that of lunasin standard and no lunasin-related sequences were found in the analysed wheat samples. These findings confirm the hypothesis, reported in recent researches, that lunasin is not a wheat-derived peptide.
authors.affiliation: Department of Agricultural Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Viale Fanin 44, 40127 Bologna, Italy. Electronic address: giovanni.dinelli@unibo.it.
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dinelli
authors.affiliation: Department of Agricultural Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Viale Fanin 44, 40127 Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Valeria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Bregola
authors.affiliation: Department of Agricultural Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Viale Fanin 44, 40127 Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bosi
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Via Belmeloro 6, 40126 Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fiori
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Via Belmeloro 6, 40126 Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gotti
authors.affiliation: Bioaesis, Via Rocco Scotellaro 1/A, 60035 Jesi (AN), Italy.
authors.forename: Emanuela
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Simonetti
authors.affiliation: Bioaesis, Via Rocco Scotellaro 1/A, 60035 Jesi (AN), Italy.
authors.forename: Caterina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Trozzi
authors.affiliation: Department for Life Quality Studies, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Corso D'Augusto 237, 47921 Rimini, Italy.
authors.forename: Emanuela
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Leoncini
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Via Belmeloro 6, 40126 Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Cecilia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Prata
authors.affiliation: Department for Life Quality Studies, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Corso D'Augusto 237, 47921 Rimini, Italy.
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Massaccesi
authors.affiliation: Department for Life Quality Studies, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Corso D'Augusto 237, 47921 Rimini, Italy.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Malaguti
authors.affiliation: Kamut International, 333 Kamut Lane, Big Sandy, MT 59520, USA.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Quinn
authors.affiliation: Department for Life Quality Studies, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Corso D'Augusto 237, 47921 Rimini, Italy.
authors.forename: Silvana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hrelia
mesh_terms: D018744:DNA, Plant / Q000235:genetics; D005838:Genotype; D008970:Molecular Weight; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry*; D012639:Seeds / Q000737:chemistry; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D030262:Soybean Proteins; D013025:Glycine max / Q000737:chemistry; D014908:Triticum / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D018744:DNA, Plant; C120514:GM2S-1 protein, soybean; D010940:Plant Proteins; D030262:Soybean Proteins
keywords: Cereal; Lunasin; Peptide; Wheat