Sugarbeet seed priming: solubilization of the basic subunit of 11-S globulin in individual seeds

Priming of sugarbeet (Beta vulgaris L.) seeds induces increased solubilizat ion of the basic B-subunit of 11-S globulin (a major seed storage protein i n sugarbeet). Using a sensitive single-seed ELISA, the soluble and total B- subunit contents of individual untreated and primed sugarbeet seeds were me asured. With the untreated seeds, there was a 160-fold range of the soluble B-subunit content among individual seeds. The individual primed seeds also exhibited large variations in their soluble B-subunit content, yet only ov er a five-fold range. Furthermore, the frequency distributions of soluble B -subunit content were markedly different for the primed and untreated seed populations; the primed seed population exhibited a substantially higher me dian than that for the untreated seed population. In marked contrast, and a s expected from results with pooled seed samples, the distributions of tota l B-subunit content were superimposed when comparing untreated and primed s eed populations.