Solubilization of coat protein from Bacillus thiaminolyticus spores

Solubilization of spore coat protein of Bacillus thiaminolyticus was investigated using various reagents, and partial characterization of solubilized protein was carried out. Five per cent of the sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) treatment was the most effective for solubilization of coat protein, and 5% SDS + 8 M urea and 0.06 N NaOH were also useful. Acrylamide gel disc electrophoresis indicated that the SDS-soluble fraction mainly consists of a single band of protein and its molecular weight was estimated at about 15,000. The SDS+ urea-soluble fraction comprised two proteins with a molecular weight of 14,500 and 32,000, and an alkali-soluble fraction of 12,000 and 25,000 respectively.