Protein Fingerprint

Identification of muscle proteins in different fish samples through vertical Electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) fingerprinting

Abstract

Muscles proteins are very similar from species to species. The experiment conducted in West Point, NY exploits the application of protein fingerprinting to identify similarities of protein sequences in members of a similar species like fish. Sodium Dodecyl sulfate in polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis technique allows the separation and identification of the protein bands in each muscle protein sample of seven randomly selected fish samples. Further identification of these proteins can potentially make easier the comparison of specific traits due to a particular protein sequence in a sample.

Introduction

The Central Dogma of Biology explains that DNA codes for specific RNA sequences eventually are translated into a polypeptide sequence and/or protein. The proteins determine specific traits in an organism, and such traits are very similar from species to species, like fish for example. Through Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate in Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), the separation of muscle tissue in fish sample can identify the different proteins present in each sample. The SDS-PAGE is a common tool to compare nucleic acids and proteins because it also determines identity of the fragment based on its size.

In this investigation, Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate coats the dissolve proteins from the fish samples after treating them with a detergent and heat to extract the protein profiles for each sample. The SDS allows the proteins to travel through the Polyacrylamide Gel in a downward vertical motion. Once the SDS coats the polypeptides with a negative charge, the particles travel from the negative region to the positive electrode in a sliding to the bottom of the gel. Each protein will move at a different rate depending on the fragment size. Bigger polypeptides will move slower than the small fragments because of the increase...