The globulin seed storage proteins of flowering plants are derived from two ancestral genes

Abstract

The cDNA and/or genomic DNA sequences of 13 globulin storage proteins from flowering plants (angiosperms) are now known. They represent 8 genera, 5 families and 5 orders of plants and include one monocotyledonous species. Here, the coding nucleotide and amino acid sequences of these proteins are compared by dot matrix analysis and gross protein domains visualized by hydropathy analyses. The vestigial homologies visualized by these means indicate that all of the globulin storage proteins of flowering plants have emanated from 2 genes that existed at the beginning of angiosperm evolution. A curious polypeptide domain of 150–200 amino acids located near the N terminus is found in a globulin subgroup of 2 genera widely separated phylogenetically. The domain appears to have resulted from an ancient insertion that has been deleted in most of its descendant genes.