Preparation and cross-reactivity of anti-avian glutamine synthetase antibody.

Rabbit antibody to chicken liver mitochondrial glutamine synthetase was purified by immunoaffinity chromatography for analysis of the immunological relatedness of vertebrate glutamine synthetases. The antibody cross-reacted with enzymes from representatives of all five vertebrate classes, indicating a high degree of evolutionary conservatism in the structure of the enzymes. A unique aspect of the immunological similarity of these enzymes is that it exists between cytosolic and mitochondrial enzymes which are, in general, immunologically distinct. The antibody did not cross-react with two insect glutamine synthetases. Compositional difference indices, calculated from the amino acid compositions of glutamine synthetases from several species, gave a mean estimate of over 80% sequence homology for the vertebrate enzymes. The avian mitochondrial enzyme gave a mean 78% homology with the mammalian cytosolic enzyme.