The most prevalent protein in a heat-treated extract of pea (Pisum sativum) embryos is an LEA group I protein; Its conformation is not affected by exposure to high temperature

The LEA-like protein previously isolated from a homogenate of pea (Pisum sativum L.) embryonic axes heated at 80 degrees C for 10 min (Russouw et al., 1995) was purified without exposure to heat. Peptides produced by trypsin digestion were separated by HPLC and sequenced. The protein was identified as a member of the LEA group I family. The conformation of the protein was compared before and after heat treatment by antibody affinity, circular dichroism spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy and 8-anilino-1-naphthalenesulfonic acid binding. No differences could be detected, demonstrating that the protein was not irreversibly denatured by exposure to high temperature.