Characterization by Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay of Monoclonal Antibodies to Pisum and Avena Phytochrome

Nine monoclonal antibodies to pea (Pisum sativum L.) and 16 to oat (Avena sativa L.) phytochrome are characterized by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay against phytochrome from six different sources: pea, zucchini (Cucurbita pepo L.), lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.), oat, rye (Secale cereale L.), and barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). All antibodies were raised against phytochrome with a monomer size near 120,000 daltons. Nevertheless, none of them discriminated qualitatively between 118/114-kilodalton oat phytochrome and a photoreversible, 60-kilodalton proteolytic degradation product derived from it. In addition, none of the 23 antibodies tested discriminated substantially between phytochrome-red-absorbing form and phytochrome-far red-absorbing form. Two antibodies to pea and six to oat phytochrome also bound strongly to phytochrome from the other species, even though these two plants are evolutionarily widely divergent. Of these eight antibodies, two bound significantly to all of the six phytochrome preparations tested, indicating that these two may recognize highly conserved regions of the chromoprotein. Since the molecular function of phytochrome is unknown, these two antibodies may serve as unique probes for regions of this pigment that are important to its mode of action.