B. Suppose you suspect that there is more than one type of subunit in the native
ID: 14321 • Letter: B
Question
B. Suppose you suspect that there is more than one type of subunit in the native molecule. So you treat the native molecule with mercaptoethanol and urea and try to separate the denatured protein into several components. If there really are 2 (or more) different types of subunits, which of the following methods is most likely to separate them? (dialysis) (gel filtration) (paper chromatography) (column chromatography based on solubility) (gel electrophoresis) (hydrolysis) (any of these should work)Explanation / Answer
Column chromatography is the only method listed that is likely to work. The info given implies that the charge, molecular weight and shape of the subunits* must be the same. This follows since they act the same on starch gel electrophoresis, SDS gels and in the ultracentrifuge, respectively. The subunits therefore should not be separable by gel electrophoresis of any kind or gel filtration. The subunits could have the same charge, molecular weight and shape and still differ in polarity and therefore solubility. So they could be separable by chromatography. It would have to be on a column since macromolecules move very slowly on paper.
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