RGD‐dependent growth of maize calluses and immunodetection of an integrin‐like protein

When maize calluses are grown in the presence of the RGD peptide, important morphological changes are observed indicating the presence of a likely RGD-binding receptor. Polyclonal antibodies generated against the human beta1 integrin subunit, the platelet integrin alphaIIbeta3 (P23) and antibodies specific for either the beta3 platelet chain or the alphaIIb polypeptide cross-react with glycoproteins in Western blot analyses. Immunoprecipitation assays indicate that this maize integrin-like protein shares structural similarities with the animal alphaIIbeta3 complex. We also show that AcAt2, a polyclonal antibody raised against Arabidopsis proteins purified on an RGD column, interacts with a maize protein.