Purification and Immunological Detection of Phytochrome from Wheat Coleoptiles

Phytochrome was partially purified from dark grown wheat coleoptiles by ammonium sulfate precipitation, hydroxyapatite column chromatography and polyethylene glycol precipitation, with a yield of about 27%. Phytochrome prepared by this method contains a dominant species having a molecular weight of 124 kD on SDS-PAGE. This 124 kD polypeptide is recognized by the antiserum raised against partially purified wheat phytochrome in rabbit. Oat anti-phytochrome polyclonal antibodies can also cross-react with phytochrome purified from wheat as assayed by ELISA and immunoblotting.