SDS-PAGE Characterisation of Crude Seed and Leaf Proteins in <i>Corchorus</i> Species

Abstract

Crude protein separation was carried out for Corchorus incisifolious, Corchorus aestuans, Corchorus tridens and Corchorus olitorious using Sodium Dodecyl Sulphate-Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). Plants were collected both from wild and cultivated sites and samples included leaves and seeds for the electrophoretic study. Distinct polymorphism in electrophoretic banding patterns of seed and leaf proteins following SDS- PAGE was observed in the four Corchorus species studied. Forty- two polypeptide bands were observed in the seed and a total of eleven polypeptide bands were observed in the leaves of the Corchorus species studied. The electrophoretic study revealed protein bands with various intensities ranging from high, to low and faint. The results showed that there was variation in both the seed and leaf proteins of the Corchorus species studied. A dendrogram constructed based on the Single Linkage Cluster Analysis (SLCA) clustering method revealed three major clusters for seeds. Cluster I consisted of C. incisifolious and C. aestuans, cluster II consisted of C. tridens, while cluster III consisted of C. olitorious. The leaf protein extracts were grouped into two clusters, cluster one containing C. incisifolious and C. aestuans, while the other contained C. tridens and C. olitorious.