title: Molecular characterization of edestin gene family in Cannabis sativa L.
abstract: Globulins are the predominant class of seed storage proteins in a wide variety of plants. In many plant species globulins are present in several isoforms encoded by gene families. The major seed storage protein of Cannabis sativa L. is the globulin edestin, widely known for its nutritional potential. In this work, we report the isolation of seven cDNAs encoding for edestin from the C. sativa variety Carmagnola. Southern blot hybridization is in agreement with the number of identified edestin genes. All seven sequences showed the characteristic globulin features, but they result to be divergent members/forms of two edestin types. According to their sequence similarity four forms named CsEde1A, CsEde1B, CsEde1C, CsEde1D have been assigned to the edestin type 1 and the three forms CsEde2A, CsEde2B, CsEde2C to the edestin type 2. Analysis of the coding sequences revealed a high percentage of similarity (98-99%) among the different forms belonging to the same type, which decreased significantly to approximately 64% between the forms belonging to different types. Quantitative RT-PCR analysis revealed that both edestin types are expressed in developing hemp seeds and the amount of CsEde1 was 4.44 ± 0.10 higher than CsEde2. Both edestin types exhibited a high percentage of arginine (11-12%), but CsEde2 resulted particularly rich in methionine residues (2.36%) respect to CsEde1 (0.82%). The amino acid composition determined in CsEde1 and CsEde2 types suggests that these seed proteins can be used to improve the nutritional quality of plant food-stuffs.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Agricultural Biology and Biotechnology, CNR, Via Bassini 15, Milan 20133, Italy.
authors.forename: Teresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Docimo
authors.affiliation: Institute of Agricultural Biology and Biotechnology, CNR, Via Bassini 15, Milan 20133, Italy.
authors.forename: Immacolata
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Caruso
authors.affiliation: Institute of Agricultural Biology and Biotechnology, CNR, Via Bassini 15, Milan 20133, Italy.
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ponzoni
authors.affiliation: Institute of Agricultural Biology and Biotechnology, CNR, Via Bassini 15, Milan 20133, Italy.
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mattana
authors.affiliation: Institute of Agricultural Biology and Biotechnology, CNR, Via Bassini 15, Milan 20133, Italy. Electronic address: galasso@ibba.cnr.it.
authors.forename: Incoronata
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Galasso
mesh_terms: D002188:Cannabis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D005916:Globulins / Q000378:metabolism; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D055314:Seed Storage Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D012639:Seeds / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D005916:Globulins; D010940:Plant Proteins; D055314:Seed Storage Proteins; C007578:edestin protein, Cannabis sativa
keywords: 11S globulin; Gene family; Genome organization; Hemp; Seed storage protein; qRT-PCR