Isolation of plant tubulin from azuki bean epicotyls by ethyl N-phenylcarbamate-Sepharose affinity chromatography.

A new method for isolating plant tubulin was devised. The method involves affinity chromatography with ethyl N-phenylcarbamate and Sepharose. The protein isolated by the affinity chromatography and purified by two successive chromatographical steps on DEAE-Sephadex A-50 and Sephadex G-200 consisted of two subunits which possessed the same mobilities as the alpha- and beta-subunits of rabbit brain tubulin on SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and showed colchicine-binding activity.