Fusicoccin and its receptors - Perception and signal transduction

Purified preparations of FC receptors from maize, obtained under non-denaturing conditions, showed in SDS-PAGE two doublets of proteins with an apparent molecular mass of 30 and 90 kDa. In this paper the isolation of the 30 kDa protein, its identification as a 14-3-3-like protein, as well as its immunological detection in partially-purified FC-receptor preparations from bean and spinach are described. The 14-3-3 proteins have biochemical properties consistent with potential signalling roles, and their presence in highly purified FC-receptor preparations suggests that they may be involved in FC- signal transduction. Photoaffinity labelling experiments demonstrating that the protein at 90 kDa binds FC are also presented. The evidence presented taken as a whole, suggests the occurrence in maize of a protein complex for FC perception and signal transduction.