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SDS-PAGE fingerprinting of cell-wall proteins extracted from 119 strains belonging to different species of lactic acid bacteria have been compared. The method of extraction and electrophoretic separation utilized in this work was found to be a reliable and rapid way for characterizing thermophilic lactobacilli species and strains. A protein of approximately 50 kDa was found to be characteristic for all the Lact. helveticus strains, and two cell-wall proteins of about 20 and 30 kDa were typical of the species Lact. delbrueckii, but the discrimination between the subspecies lactis and bulgaricus was not possible by the electrophoretic technique used. The other thermophilic species studied in this work presented cell-wall protein patterns that permitted their differentiation from both Lact. helveticus and Lact. delbrueckii.

Artificial manipulation of sink and source was carried out in several bread wheat varieties in order to study the variations in the pattern of storage products accumulation in the grain. In a first experiment, partial ablation of the laminae did not cause any significant variation in the yield components, while total elimination of the laminae resulted in a decreased fertility of the spikelets and in a lower kernel weight. The protein content of grain turned out to be a function of the amount of vegetative organs left in the different treatments, and ranged from 11.1 % in leafless plants to 16.5% in the control. The halving of the spikes led to a 14% increase in the size of the kernels, while the protein content per spike showed a 20 % drop in comparison to the control. Reduction of sink affected nitrogen accumulation to a lesser extent than carbohydrates storage in the grain. Reduction of sink induced remarkable increases in the protein fractions: gliadins +59%, glutelins +44%, insoluble residue +30%, non-proteic nitrogen +28%, albumins and globulins + 16%. The increase of GPC or of specific solubility classes did not influence significantly the quality of the flour evaluated by the Zeleny and Pelshenke indices. The presented data suggest some caution in adopting kernel size and GPC as main selection criteria in early generations. It seems more convenient to select for a prolonged grain filling period and for a higher biomass without increasing plant height.