SDS-PAGE detection of a specific marker in ‘Fécula Branca’ cassava cultivar, <em>Manihot esculenta</em> Crantz (Euphorbiaceae)

Abstract

Proteins from young unexpanded leaves of seven cassava cultivars Manihot esculenta, Crantz (Euphorbidaceae) were investigated through sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). The comparison was made through the protein patterns obtained, and their relative amounts determined in plants leaves infected or not with the bacteria Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. manihotis. The electrophoretic protein pattern obtained from the investigated cultivars (“Fibra”, “Fécula Branca”, “Branca de Santa Catarina”, “Verdinha”, “IAC-12”, “IAC-13”, and “IAC-14”) showed a polypeptide subunit present exclusively in the “Fécula Branca” cultivar, with a molecular weight of 93.5 kDa. Also, protein fractions were more intensely stained in young leaves of M. esculenta plants infected with the bacteria. SDS-PAGE did not detect specific markers for pathogenesis, but the 93.5 kDa protein fraction can be used as a molecular marker for the “Fécula Branca” cultivar.