Immunological comparisons of spore storage proteins: The use of affinity-purified antibodies and Western-blotting in probing the relationships of higher taxa of ferns

Abstract

The 11s spore storage proteins were isolated from selected fern families and compared via Western-blotting. Proteins of fern species were separated into their polypeptide components by SDS-PAGE, blotted onto nitrocellulose, and the antigenic homologies of the proteins were tested using affinity-purified antibodies. Homology was detected among families of aspidioid ferns but was limited to within the same subfamilial group in the Cyatheaceae. The results suggest that families of aspidioid ferns may be very closely related whereas significant differentiation may have occurred between the subfamilial groups within the Cyatheaceae.