Immunochemical identification of gelsolin in maize pollen

Gelsolin is a representative of a type of actin-binding proteins (ABPs) uni versally found in eukaryotes. It plays role in nucleation, capping and seve ring of actin filaments in vitro. In our experiment, gelsolin was purified from pig plasma and the polyclonal antibodies against it were prepared. The crude extracts of maize pollen were immunodetected by Western-blotting wit h polyclonal antibody and monoclonal antibody respectively. The immunodetec tion results show that gelsolin exists in maize pollen and its molecular we ight is about 91 ku, similar to that of gelsolin found in animal tissues.