Breed and Species Differences in the Hair Proteins of Four Genera of Caprini

Abstract

A study has been made of the high-sulphur protein components of wools from goats and a variety of sheep using electrophoresis in starch gels at pH 2·4 and chromatography on DEAE-cellulose at pH 4·5 as methods for characterization. The high-sulphur proteins prepared from ovine wools, from domestic (10 breeds and strains), feral (Soay and Shetland), or wild (Bighorn, O. canadensis; Mouflon, O. mU8'imon) sheep are very heterogeneous. Of the two methods gel electrophoresis gives the better resolution with a characteristic pattern in which upwards of 20 components can be seen and 12 are sufficiently well separated to be readily identifiable. This pattern is unaffected by the diet or by the age of the sheep (up to 5 yr) and would seem to be characteristic for ovine wools. One or other of two of these bands may be missing from the wool of some individuals, particularly of wild sheep.