Thermal-stable proteins of fruit of long-living Sacred Lotus Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn var. China Antique.

ABSTRACT: Single-seeded fruit of the sacred lotus Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn var. China Antique from NE China have viability as long as ~1300 years determined by direct radiocarbon-dating, having a germination rate of 84%. The pericarp, a fruit tissue that encloses the single seeds of Nelumbo, is considered one of the major factors that contribute to fruit longevity. Proteins that are heat stable and have protective function may be equally important to seed viability. We show proteins of Nelumbo fruit that are able to withstand heating, 31% of which remained soluble in the 110°C-treated embryo-axis of a 549-yr-old fruit and 76% retained fluidity in its cotyledons. Genome of Nelumbo is published. The amino-acid sequences of 11 "thermal proteins" (soluble at 100°C) of modern Nelum

SUBMITTER: Shen-Miller J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3869599 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature