A long-term study initiated in 1989 at San-born Field, Columbia, Missouri, was designed to evaluate the affect of environmental factors, nitrogen application, and crop rotation on soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merr.) seed composition. Soybeans were grown as part of a four- year rotation which included corn (Zea maize L.), wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), and red clover (Trifolium pratense L.). Results from soil tests made prior to initiation of the study and subsequently every five years, were used to calculate application rates of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium necessary for target yield of pursuant crops. In the experimental design, nitrogen was applied to one-half of the plot on which the non-leguminous crop, either corn or wheat was grown. Analysis of soybean seed by near infrared reflectance spectroscopy collected over an 11-year period revealed a linear increase in protein and decrease in oil content. Application of nitrogen fertilizer to non-leguminous crops did not have an apparent effect on total protein or oil content of subsequent soybean crop. Analysis of soybean seed proteins by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in conjunction with computer­assisted densitometry revealed subtle changes in the accumulation of seed proteins. Immunoblot analysis using antibodies raised against the β-subunit of β-conglycinin showed a gradual increase in the accumulation of the 7S components during successive years of the experiment. A linear increase in temperature and decrease in rainfall was observed from the onset of data· collection. Higher temperatures during the growing season have been linked to increased protein and diminished oil content of soybean, thus changes observed in this study are possibly related to climatic conditions. However, crop rotation and subsequent changes in soil ecology may contribute to these observed changes in the seed composition.

Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the 60~% isopropanol extract of soybean(Glycine max [L.] Merr.) seed revealed two abundant proteins with molecular masses of 19 and 10 kDa. Amino acid analysis revealed that the isopropanol-extractable protein fraction was rich in cysteine. Two-dimensional gel electro-phoretic analysis indicated that the 19kDa and 10kDa proteins had pI of 4.2 and 4.0 respectively. Peptide mass fingerprints of trypsin digests of the two proteins obtained using matrix-assisted, laser desorption/ionization-time of flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectroscopy revealed the 19kDa protein was Kunitz trypsin inhibitor and the 10kDa protein was Bowman-Birk proteinase inhibitor. When resolved under non-denaturing conditions, the isopropanol-extracted proteins inhibited trypsin and chymotrypsin activity. Results presented in this study demonstrate that isopropanol extraction of soybean seed could be used as a simple and rapid method to obtain a protein fraction enriched in Kunitz trypsin and Bowman-Birk proteinase inhibitors. Since proteinase inhibitors are rich in sulfur amino acids and are putative anticarcinogens, this rapid and inexpensive isolation procedure could facilitate efforts in nutrition and cancer research.

Sinorhizobium sp. strain MUS10 forms nitrogen-fixing stem nodules on Sesbania rostrata, a tropical green manure crop. In this study, the ultrastructural events associated with the formation of stem nodules were investigated. Sinorhizobium sp. strain MUS10 entered the host tissue through cracks created by the emerging adventitious root primordia and multiplied within the intercellular spaces. During early phases of infection, host cells adjacent to invading bacteria revealed cellular damage that is typical of hypersensitive reactions, while the cells at the inner cortex exhibited meristematic activity. Infection threads were numerous in S-day-old nodules and often were associated with the host cell wall. In several cases, more than one infection thread was found in individual cells. The junction at which the host cell walls converged was often enlarged due to fusion of intracellular branches of infection threads resulting in large infection pockets. The infection threads were made up of a homogeneous, amorphous matrix that enclosed the bacteria. Several finger-like projections were seen radiating from these enlarged infection threads and were delineated from the host cytoplasm by the plasma membrane. As in Azorhizobium caulinodans induced root nodules, the release of Sinorhizobia from the infection threads into the plant cells appears to be mediated by 'infection droplets'. A 15-day­old Sesbania stem nodule revealed typical ultrastructure features of a determinate nodule, containing several bacterioids within symbiosomes.

Antibodies raised against the purified p-subunit of β -conglycinin were used in immunohistochemical studies to monitor the pattern of β -conglycinin mobilization in the cotyledons during soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] seed germination. Western blot analysis revealed that the break down of the β -subunit of β -conglycinin commenced as early as 2 days after seed imbibition (DAI). Concurrent with the degradation of the β -subunit of β -conglycinin, accumulation of 48, 28, and 26 kD proteolytic intermediates was observed from 2 to 6 DAI. Western blot analysis also revealed that the acidic subunit of glycinin was mobilized earlier than the basic subunit. The basic glycinin subunit was subjected to proteolysis within 2 DAI resulting in the appearance of an intermediate product approximately 2 kD smaller than the native basic glycinin subunit. In contrast to the major seed storage proteins, lipoxygenase was subjected to limited proteolysis and was detected even after 8 DAI. The first sign of β -conglycinin breakdown was observed near the vascular strands and proceeded from the vascular strands towards the epidermis. Protein A-gold localization studies using thin sections of soybean cotyledons and antibodies raised against the β -subunit of β -conglycinin revealed intense labeling over protein bodies. A pronounced decrease in the protein A-gold labeling intensity over protein bodies was observed at later stages of seed germination. The protein bodies, which were converted into a large central vacuole by 8 DAI, contained very little 7S protein as evidenced by sparse protein A-gold labeling in the vacuoles.