IMMUNOCHEMICAL RELATIONS BETWEEN GRASSES AND TAXA OF SEED PLANTS

Immunochemical relations of grasses with monocotyledonous, dicotyledon ous, and gymnospermous plants were studied. Salt-soluble proteins of s eeds were studied in 157 species from 42 families of monocotyledonous plants, 222 species from 85 families of dicotyledonous plants, and 85 species from 9 families of gymnospermous plants. We studied seven spec ially selected antisera to salt-soluble proteins of seeds from differe nt subfamilies of grasses and two antisera to globulins of the embryos of grasses. The data obtained and generalization of the other biochem ical approaches and results concerning the origin of grasses, such as characteristics of the protein complex of seeds, amino acid compositio n of the embryo, absence of reaction close to the immunochemical radic al of grasses in the studied mono- and dicotyledonous plants, close im munochemical reactions with gymnosperms, and presence of specific prot eins prolamines in the protein complex of the seeds of grasses, sugges t that grasses have a very ancient origin rather than diverged from th e contemporary taxa of angiosperms.