The wound‐induced accumulation of a transcript coding for a polypeptide of 72 amino acid residues in maize (Zea mays L.) seedlings was investigated. Sequence comparison showed strong homology with Bowman‐Birk trypsin inhibitors of cereal and legume species. The local accumulation pattern of this transcript demonstrated, after wounding various parts of the seedling, a local as well as a systemic response which implies the transmission of a wound signal specifically from the lower to the upper parts of the plant.

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