Effects of Sulfur Deficiency on the Synthesis and Accumulation of Proteins in the Developing Wheat Seed

Abstract

The effects of sulfur deficiency on the synthesis and accumulation of polypeptides in the developing wheat grain between 6 and 36 days after anthesis were examined by sodium dodecyl sul- fate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Wheat grain proteins were divided into two groups based on their solubility characteristics: (a) salt-soluble, and (b) salt-insoluble. Sulfur deficiency resulted in changes in the synthesis and accumulation of both groups of polypeptides, but the changes were more pronounced in the salt-insoluble group. In neither case were the changes as dramatic as those reported previously for sulfur deficient legume and barley seeds. In sulfur-deficient wheat plants, storage protein synthesis in developing seeds was detectable earlier than in plants grown with adequate sulfur.