Studies On Reduced Wool Ix. The N-Terminal Sequence of A Fragment Produced by Cleavage of Component 8 With Cyanogen Bromide

Abstract

Component 8 is a major component extracted from reduced and carboxy-methylated wool. Further study of its reaction with cyanogen bromide and of the fractions obtained under carefully controlled disaggregating conditions has rev<\laled that while most of the methionine residues are in the same position relative to the ends of the chains, at least 30% of them appear to be in a different chemical environment from the rest. The evidence can be interpreted in terms of variations in some of the amino acids at particular points in a fundamental sequence of the 60 residues (CNBr3) at the amino terminal end. Further amino acid sequences near the acetylated terminal residue have been determined and provide examples of the amino acid variatioIl along the chain. One sequeIlce with variants is: N-acetyISer-(Tyr or Phe Or Pro)-Asp-(Phe or Leu)-SCMCySH-Leu-Pro-Asp-Leu-Ser-Phe-Arg-. There is a region in component 8 where many of the S-carboxymethylcysteine residues are congregated.