U.S. flagAn official website of the United States government
                    Here's how you know **Official websites use .gov**
                            
                            A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
 **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
                            
                            A **lock** (                            
                              A locked padlock                                                      
                            
                            ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Menu Agricultural Research Service
						
                    U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 Corn Insects and Crop Genetics Research: Ames, IA
 close



    Research

                    Research Projects
                                    Publications
                                    Collaborations
                                    News
                People

                    Staff Listing
                                    Careers


        


                    Database Projects
                        MaizeGDB
                                    SoyBase
                                    PeanutBase
                                    Legume Information System
                                    Maize Newsletter
                                    Maize Mutant Phenotypes
                                    Maize Genetics Conference
                                    Shiny Soybase CNV
                                    Shiny Soybase SNP
                                    Common Bean and Alfalfa - PvGEA
                                    Common Bean and Alfalfa - AGEDSearch small
                    Search
            
            ARS Home
                                About ARS
                                Contact Us




ARS Home Midwest Area Ames, Iowa Corn Insects and Crop Genetics Research Research Publications at this Location





- ARS National Programs
- Search for a scientific manuscript
- Search for a research project
- ARS Software
- Programs and Projects
- Collaborations
- Subjects of Investigation
- Publications

Title:   Author  item
                                            Scott, Marvin
  Submitted to: Maize Genetics Cooperation Newsletter
                                    Publication Type: Other
                                    Publication Acceptance Date: 1/3/2002
                                    Publication  Date: 3/15/2002
                                    Citation: SCOTT, M.P. ANALYSIS OF KERNEL TRYPTOPHAN CONTENT IN INBRED LINES AND THEIR OPAQUE2    CONVERSIONS USING METHODS OPTIMIZED FOR MAIZE BREEDING PROGRAMS. MAIZE GENETICS COOPERATION NEWS LETTER. 2002. v. 76. p. 2.Interpretive Summary: Because so much corn is used for animal feed and human food, the nutritional quality of corn is important.  Corn is deficient in the amino acid tryptophan, limiting its nutritional value.  Before the level of tryptophan in corn can be increased by biotechnology or by conventional breeding, methods must be available for measuring tryptophan levels in many ysmall samples in a short time.  This manuscript describes the development and optimization of methods for the analysis of tryptophan in single kernels.  These methods will be useful to plant breeders interested in developing high-tryptophan corn.  Tryptophan levels in inbred lines that could be useful for developing high-tryptophan corn were determined.  Lines containing the opaque2 mutation, which is known to improve the nutritional quality of corn, contain varying amounts of tryptophan compared to their wild-type counterparts.
                                Technical Abstract: Methods for high-throughput analysis of tryptophan have been optimized for use on milligram-sized samples of maize kernels.  Ba(OH)2 and pepsin hydrolysis of the sample followed by chemical detection of tryptophan in the hydrolysate were compared.  Both methods gave a similar ranking of samples with varying levels of tryptophan, with enzymatic hydrolysis giving ga slightly higher measurement.  Standard deviations of samples hydrolyzed with Ba(OH)2 were lower than those of samples hydrolyzed with pepsin; however, pepsin hydrolysis is more suitable to high-throughput analysis. Using these methods, the tryptophan content of five inbred lines and their opaque2 conversions were compared.  The tryptophan content of the opaque2 lines varied from 99% to 176% of the level found in their corresponding recurrent parents.


Return to top


Connect with ARS Sign up


ARS Home
                            USDA.gov
                            Plain Writing
                            Policies & Links
                            Civil Rights Statements
                            FOIA
                            Accessibility Statement
                            Privacy Policy
                            Non-Discrimination Statement
                            Quality of Information
                            USA.gov
                            WhiteHouse.gov