ANALYSIS OF TRANSLATION ELONGATION-FACTORS FROM WHEAT DURING DEVELOPMENT AND FOLLOWING HEAT-SHOCK

Translational activity in plants undergoes rapid changes during develo pmental stages such as seed formation and germination, and during abio tic stresses such as heat shock, hypoxia and wounding. We examined the protein levels and isoelectric state of two components of the transla tion machinery, elongation factor (EF) 1 alpha and 2, to determine the ir roles in the regulation of translation. We found that the apparent protein levels of EF1 alpha increase relative to the EF2 levels which decline slightly during the development of the wheat seed. During germ ination, high levels of these factors are present in seedling tissues known to be actively engaged in translation; however, no differences i n isoelectric state were observed during germination. As an example of abiotic stress, heat shock had little impact on the apparent levels o f EF1 alpha or EF2 present in wheat leaves, nor were changes in the nu mber or levels of isoforms observed. (C) 1998 Academic Press.