The synthesis of a novel hapten-carrier protein con'u rp henol-bovme serum albumin (comferyl alcohol-B A , 47 ate, (E)-4-(3-hydro IS described. ?I!.
-1-propenyl)-Z is method is part& arly useful for the synthesis of monolignol-protein conjugates by linking D-C of monolignol side-chain and the amino group of protein throu h a -CH2CO-linker.
Coniferyl alcohol-BSA conjugate was used to raise rabbit polyclonal antibo %! ies as a probe for the further investigation of the biogenesis of coniferyl alcohol in plant cells by an immunoelectron microscopy technique.
Coniferyl (CA, l), sinapyl (SA, 2, RI =R2 = OCH3), and p-coumaryl @CA, 2, Rl =R2=H) alcohols are three monolignols known as the precursors for plant ligninsl
In woody plants, such as gymnosperms, CA is the main lignin precursor, whereas both CA and SA are the precursors for angiosperm lignins. All three precursors are utilized for the biosynthesis of lignins in grasses. These lignin precursors are believed to be synthesized within xylem cells and transported into cell walls for the biosynthesis of lignin polymer to provide mechanical strength to plants. Thus the synthesis, transport, and polymerization of lignin precursors in woody plants represent a series of vital biological processes adapted by plants to develop a marvelous rigidity. However, so far, there is no direct evidence to manifest the biogenesis and transport of these precursors in plant tissues. This is mainly due to a lack of a specific probe for each precursor. The demand of such a probe is increasing and its availability is timely since advanced biochemical and molecular biological techniques developed in recent years would allow us to efficiently utilize this probe to investigate these remarkable biological processes in plants. Using CA as an example, this paper describes a new synthesis of a CA-bovine serum albumin (CA-BSA, 3) conjugate for the preparation of anti-CA antibody as a molecular probe for CA. The syntheses of other lignin precursor-BSA conjugates ,4, are similar to that of CA-BSA.