Electrophoretic analysis of mammalian hair keratins

Keratins extracted from the hair of several mammals were characterized by sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and isoelectric focusing (IEF). By SDS-PAGE, most differences between species were detected in the position and intensity of polypeptide bands with MW in the range 30-10 KDa (high sulphur keratins, hair matrix proteins, HMP). By IEF, differences were found in the intensity of polypeptide bands in the acidic pH range (< 5.1). Electrophoretic techniques could therefore have a taxonomic usefulness.