12—A CRITIQUE OF SOME HYPOTHESES RELATING TO THE HETEROGENEITY OF THE HIGH-SULPHUR PROTEINS OF WOOL

Abstract

Joubert and Burns prepared a large number of fractions from the high-sulphur proteins of wool and estimated their molecular weights and amino-acid compositions. Their data have been re-examined in order to look for statistically significant interrelations between amino acids and between the proportion of various amino acids and molecular weight. Statistical analysis of the data is also used to examine the credibility of some hypotheses concerning the mechanism of keratin biosynthesis and to provide further evidence for the existence of families of proteins within the high-sulphur fractions of wool.

KEY WORDS (SPECIFIC TERMS):

• HYPOTHESES
• HETEROGENEITY
• CORRELATION COEFFICIENT
• MOLECULAR WEIGHT
• STATISTICAL ANALYSIS
• CORRELATION
• FRACTIONATION
• MERINO WOOL
• HIGH-SULPHUR PROTEINS
• KERATIN
• AMINO ACIDS
• CYSTINE
• THREONINE
• SERINE
• PROLINE
• S-CARBOXYMETHYLCYSTEINE
• GLUTAMIC ACID
• GLYCINE
• ALANINE
• LYSINE
• HISTIDINE
• ASPARTIC ACID
• LEUCINE
• ARGININE
• VALINE
• PHENYLALANINE

KEY WORDS (BROADER TERMS):

• STATISTICAL MEASURES
• WOOL
• PROTEINS
• POLYPEPTIDES
• ORGANIC ACIDS