THE MAIZE 2-DIMENSIONAL GEL PROTEIN DATABASE - TOWARDS AN INTEGRATED GENOME ANALYSIS PROGRAM

This paper describes the first maize database of proteins separated by two-dimensional electrophoresis. Fifty-six coleoptile proteins and 18 leaf proteins from two maize lines were partially microsequenced. Thi rty-six proteins (49%) displayed high similarity with database protein s. Nine of these proteins, representing five different functions, had never been described in maize. No conclusive function could be found f or 45 polypeptides (61% of the microsequenced proteins). In addition, an alternative identification method, based on amino acid analysis, al lowed candidates to be proposed for 17 proteins out of 44 additional p roteins analyzed in the coleoptiles. These results are stored in a dat abase which also includes, when available, genetic information about t he chromosomal location of structural genes and regulatory factors of proteins. This database is being used in the context of a project on t he genetic mapping of the expressed genome in maize.