01698naa a2200253 a 450000100080000000500110000800800410001910000180006024501490007826000090022752009420023665000170117865000150119565000220121065000130123265000230124565000160126865000160128465000160130070000190131670000190133570000170135477300730137114844692018-06-08       2000    bl uuuu     u00u1 u    #d1 aFORATO, L. A.  aIdentification of free fatty acids in maize protein bodies and purified a zeins by 13C and 1H nuclear magnetic resonance.h[electronic resource]  c2000  aZeins, the maize storage proteins, are the most abundant proteins in the corn endosperm, and are synthesized on the rough endoplasmatic reticulum and deposited in discrete organelles called protein bodies. Several authors, using circular dichroism and optical rotatory dispersion, have concluded that these proteins have a high a-helical content in alcoholic solution. In this work we have studied these proteins, within the protein bodies themselves and after extraction from the corn grains with 70% ethanol, using NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) spectroscopy. We conclusively demonstrate the presence of free fatty acids within both the protein bodies and also in the alcohol extracted a zeins. We present evidence for a direct interaction between the free fatty acids and the a zein proteins within the protein body and suggest possible mechanisms by which such an association has arisen during the evolution of the maize endosperm.  abiochemistry  ametabolism  amolecular biology  anitrogen  aBiologia Molecular  aBioquímica  aMetabolismo  aNitrogênio1 aCOLNAGO, L. A.1 aGARRATT, R. C.1 aLOPES, M. A.  tBiochimica et Biophysica Acta, Amsterdamgv. 1543, p. 106-114, 2000.