Ricin inhibition of in vitro protein synthesis by plant ribosomes.

In vitro translation systems were prepared with supernatant factors from wheat germ and 80S ribosomes from wheat germ, barley embryos, watermelon cotyledons, pea cotyledons, and castor bean endosperm. Ricin A-chain, which strongly inhibits protein synthesis by mammalian ribosomes, inhibited all of the plant ribosomal systems by 50% when present at 25-45 mug/ml- approximately 23,000 times the concentration needed to inhibit mammalian systems. Ricinus communis agglutinin A-chain, a protein similar to ricin A-chain, inhibited translation by the plant systems 50% at concentrations 5-10 times those of the ricin A-chain. Ribosomes from castor bean endosperm, the source of ricin and the agglutinin, were just as susceptible to the inhibitors as were ribosomes from the other four plants. Compartmentation of the inhibitors within vacuoles derived from protein bodies of the endosperm appears to be responsible for protecting cytoplasmic protein synthesis during germination of castor beans.