Isoform patterns of chitinase and beta-1,3-glucanase in maturing corn kernels (Zea mays L.) associated with Aspergillus flavus milk stage infection.

Isoform patterns of chitinase and beta-1,3-glucanase of maturing kernels of yellow dent corn (Pioneer 3394) infected with Aspergillus flavus at the milk stage were investigated through polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE). Proteins on the sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) gel with an apparent molecular mass range of 23-46 kDa were differentially present in the kernels infected with both aflatoxin-producing and non-aflatoxin-producing strains of A. flavus. From in-gel (native PAGE) enzyme activity assays, three bands corresponding to chitinase isoforms and two bands corresponding to beta-1,3-glucanase isoforms were detected in the infected kernels. One chitinase isoform of 29 kDa was present only in the infected kernels, and another one of 28 kDa was present in both infected and noninfected kernels. They were judged to be acidic on the basis of their migration on an acrylamide isoelectric focusing (IEF) gel. For the beta-1,3-glucanase, one isoform of 35 kDa was present in both infected and noninfected kernels, but another one, a 33 kDa isoform, was present only in the infected kernels. Both acidic and basic beta-1,3-glucanase isoforms were detected in the IEF gel. The results of this study are the first to demonstrate patterns of enhanced or inducible proteins in maturing corn kernels in response to A. flavus infection at the milk stage. The results also indicate that only particular isoforms of the two hydrolytic enzymes are involved in the maturing corn kernels infected at the milk stage with A. flavus.