DETERMINATION OF THE EFFECT OF R-MUTATION AND RB-MUTATION ON THE STRUCTURE OF AMYLOSE AND AMYLOPECTIN IN PEA (PISUM-SATIVUM L)

The structure of starch from pea lines near-isogenic except for mutati on at the r and rb loci was compared with that of the wild-type. The i solated starch polysaccharides were fractionated by size exclusion chr omatography, and the constituent chain profile of the branched amylope ctin components examined. A mutation at the rb locus had little effect on starch structure and composition. A mutation at the r locus (a gen etic lesion affecting the activity of an isoform of starch branching e nzyme) resulted in an increase in the amylose content of the starch an d a change in the structure of amylopectin. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevie r Science Ltd