The isolation and composition of helical protein microfibrils from Hevea brasiliensis latex

Abstract

The microfibrils contained within the Moid particles of Hevea brasiliensis latex obtained from young tissue have been isolated by methods based on low-speed centrifugation, iso-electric precipitation and gel filtration. The isolated microfibrils behave as a single protein having an isoelectric point of about 4 as determined by paper electrophoresis. The only components so far detected in the microfibrils are protein and possibly carbohydrate; nucleic acid appears to be absent. The amino-acid composition of the microfibril protein shows no unusual features. In latex from the more mature laticiferous tissues of H. brasiliensis, the lutoid particles appear to be devoid of microfibrils or their protein decomposition products.