Portion of Plant Enzyme May Mimic Taxol Researchers interested
in increasing plant cells' use of carbon for seed storage
products like starch, oil, and protein have been studying
sucrose synthase. This enzyme metabolizes sugar and delivers
carbon for plant cell growth and other uses. As a tool, the
scientists fashioned a synthetic peptide, called SS2, from a
portion of the enzyme. They used SS2 to identify regions of
sucrose synthase that bind to actin, a filamentous protein
that's part of the cytoskeleton used by plant cells when
dividing and elongating. They found that SS2 caused actin
filaments to clump togetheror bundlewhich stopped plant cells
from dividing. Bundling is similar to how taxol checks the
spread of some human cancer cells. A patent has been filed for
SS2, and a licensing partner's being sought to investigate the
peptide's potential medical applications. Steven C. Huber, USDA-
ARS Photosynthesis Research Unit, Urbana, Illinois; phone (217)
265-0909. Eggs and Eye Health While chicken eggs are b