Abstract:Seed polypeptides from 46 cultivars of peanut (Arachis hypogaea L. ) were compared by SDS-PAGE and two-dimensional pelyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Arachin, the major seed storage protein of peanut, showed polymorphism. There were four types of arachin pelypeptide pattems. Type Ⅰ consisted of only four major subunits:41 kD,38.5 kD and two of the 18 kD subunits. Type Ⅱ had six major subunits:41 kD,38.5 kD,37.5 kD and three of the 18 kD subunits. Type Ⅲ consisted of 41 kD, 38.5 kD,36.5 kD and three of the 18 kD subunits. And Type Ⅳ consisted of seven major subunits:41 kD,38.5 kD,37.5 kD,36.5 kD and three of the 18 kD subunits. The compositions of conarachin in different cultivars were similar. Amino acid composition analysis of seed protein in 8 peanut cuhivars showed that Type Ⅰ was rich in methionine and cystine.