Detection of the 3-phosphoglycerate kinase protein of Glomus mosseae

The Glomus mosseae 3-phosphoglycerate kinase (PGK) gene encodes a polypeptide of 416 amino acids. A synthetic peptide was designed to the C-terminus of the polypeptide for the production of a polyclonal antibody. The antibody was tested against the synthetic peptide in an immune-dot blot and was then used to investigate the asymbiotic and symbiotic accumulation of the PGK protein. Western blot analysis revealed that a polypeptide of approximately 45 kDa accumulated in G. mosseae-colonised tomato roots; this is similar to the theoretical molecular weight of 44.764 kDa. The protein was not detected in non-mycorrhizal roots. Quantitative immune-dot blotting revealed that the polypeptide accumulated in germinating spores and hyphae of G. mosseae and also in tomato roots colonised by G, mosseae. The amount detected in the mycorrhizal root system was significantly higher than that found in germinating sporocarps. The variation in the levels of glycolytic activity in the symbiotic and asymbiotic developmental stages of G. mosseae is discussed.