Proteins of the Hard Keratins of Echidna, Hedgehog, Rabbit, Ox and Man

Abstract

Two major groups of proteins (low sulfur and high sulfur) of ovine wool, horn and hoof contain similar components although the overall proportions of the groups of proteins and the relative proportions of components within the groups may show significant differences. It was shown for 5 other species (echidna, hedgehog, rabbit, ox and man) that the hard keratins produced by one animal contain the same groups of protein components but in different relative proportions. The wide apparent differences in the type and relative proportions of the low sulfur components which comprise the major constituent proteins of the microfibrils suggest that microfibrils can tolerate a considerable variation in the constituent proteins and still produce functional structures. The low sulfur protein components are sufficiently well resolved by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis to make this procedure potentially useful for animal identification and classification.