FERGUSON PLOT ANALYSIS OF HIGH-MOLECULAR-WEIGHT GLUTENIN SUBUNITS BY CAPILLARY ELECTROPHORESIS

The high molecular weight glutenin subunits of wheat endosperm migrate anomalously in sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) polyacrylamide gel electr ophoresis. This anomolous migration was studied by capillary electroph oresis employing an entangled polymer solution that contained SDS. The nonrigid solution nature of the sieving matrix allowed for the easy p reparation of the different matrix concentrations required for the con struction of a Ferguson plot. A Ferguson plot analysis of these protei ns suggested that the high molecular weight glutenin subunits possesse d frictional coefficients similar to those determined for standard pro teins of the same size, indicating that anomalous migration in polyacr ylamide gels was due to decreased binding of SDS and not to a unique s tructural conformation in the presence of SDS.