Question

An active protein was purified to homogeneity using gel filtration and analyzed for its amino terminal residue using dabsyl chloride as described in Chapter 3. After multiple tries, the researcher gave up because there appeared to be four different amino terminal residues in the protein. What would you conclude about this protein?

Answer 1

Answer:

The protein was made of four unique subunits.

Explanation:

When dealing with proteins, it is highly unlikely that there is one type of amino acid in the entire protein. It is more likely that there are long chains of multiple amino acids which all play a role in the shape of the protein.

Using gel filtration, it can be seen what amino acids are used to make up this protein. If the test shows that there are four different amino terminal residues for this protein, then it can be concluded that the protein was made up was four different subunits.