cDNA of buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench) was isolated from immature seeds harvested 14 days after pollination. Two genes, designated FA02 and FA18, were found:to encode legumin-like proteins and were expressed during seed development. The deduced amino acid sequence of FA02 was identical to the N-terminal amino acid domain of BW24KD, which was believed to be a major buckwheat allergen (Urisu, A.; Kondo, Y.; Morita, Y.; Yagi, E.; Tsuruta, M.; Yasaki, T.; Yamada, K.; Kuzuya, H.; Suzuki, M.; Titani, K.; Kurosawa, K. Isolation and characterization of a major allergen in buckwheat seeds. In Current Advances in Buckwheat Research; Skinshu University Press: Matsumoto, Japan, 1995; pp 965-974). It was predicted that FA02 would be cleaved to generate two separate components, a 41.3 kDa alpha -subunit and a 21 kDa beta -subunit. Antiserum was raised against the deduced FA02 beta -subunit, and immunoblotting of total protein from buckwheat seeds (F. esculentum M. and Fagopyrum tartaricum Gaertn.) revealed that several groups of proteins reacted with the antiserum. Polypeptides in the 23-25 kDa range displayed the greatest reactivity.