A COMPARATIVE-STUDY ON STAINABILITY OF PREPROPHASE BANDS BY THE PSTAIR ANTIBODY

The detectability of preprophase bands (PPBs) by antibody to PSTAIR se quence, which is found in cyclin-dependent kinases and is perfectly co nserved in the p34(cdc2) kinase from all known sources, was compared a mong root tip cells of 12 plant species and cultivars. Although more t han 80% of prophase cells in all species examined had PPBs of microtub ules (MTs), the detectability of PPBs by anti-PSTAIR varied from 0% to 88% depend on species examined. The detectability of PPBs by the anti body to PSTAIR was as high as that by antibody to tubulin in Allium ce pa, A. fistulosum and A. tuberosum. In Triticum and Pisum, the detecta bility varied greatly among cultivars. Only few faint PPBs could be de tectable in Chrysanthemum, and no PPBs were seen in Hibiscus using ant i-PSTAIR. The PSTAIR antibody recognized single (Hordeum, Triticum, Ze a) or multiple (Allium, Hibiscus, Pisum) bands around 34 kDa on protei n blots of root tip exracts. PPBs of anti-PSTAIR cross reactive molecu les were detectable in one fourth of the prophase cells of Pisum (cv. Snack) by the conventional method. However, the detectability of PPBs in Pisum increased to 80% when the method for the PSTAIR-fluorescence was modified, suggesting that the low detectability of PPBs by anti-PS TAIR may not be due to genuine differences between species or cultivar s, but may be the result of variable staining.