Characterization of the Triticum durum Desf. chloroform-methanol-soluble protein family

The CM (chloroform-methanol-soluble) proteins are low-molecular-weight cysteine-rich proteins that are found in wheat and barley endosperms. A cDNA clone encoding a Triticum durum (T. durum) CM3 protein has been isolated from a mid-maturation seed cDNA library. The T. durum CM3 protein is synthesized as a precursor including a signal peptide (SP) of 25 residues. Northern blot analysis shows that in developing seed the highest level of CM3 protein mRNA is detected at mid-maturation. The hybridization patterns obtained by Southern blot analysis indicated that T. durum CM proteins are encoded by a small multigene family. The similarity between the wheat and barley CM proteins encoded by homologous chromosomes is much higher than that between each of the three members of the T. durum family. All CM proteins contain ten cysteine residues organized in a conserved cysteine motif.