INVESTIGATION OF WOOL PROTEIN HETEROGENEITY USING 2-DIMENSIONAL ELECTROPHORESIS WITH IMMOBILIZED PH GRADIENTS

The heterogeneity of intermediate filament proteins (IFP) from wool ha s been investigated using two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electroph oresis with immobilised pH gradients in the first dimension. The charg e heterogeneity has been confirmed with some of the IFP separated as a string of spots with similar molecular weight, but markedly different in isoelectric point (pI). The molecular weight and pI distribution o f the string of IFP changed after treatment with alkaline phosphatase, indicating that some of the heterogeneity is caused by phosphorylatio n.