Peroxidase B6T173 (ZmPrx35) from insect-resistant maize (Zea mays, p84C3) kernels

Peroxidase (POD) activity was found to be positively correlated with insect resistance in maize kernels. Thus, we purified active PODs from (Zea mays, p84C3) kernels and subjected to LC-MS/MS analyses. To verify the identified putative plant PODs, we produced them by recombinant expression in E. coli. Whereas B4FFK9 did not display in vitro activity, B6T173 (ZmPrx35) was active and also exhibits a heme cofactor. B6T173 accounts for about 80% of the POD activity in the kernel, according to densitometric evaluation.