Variation in goat fibre protein

The proteins from a range of cashmere, mohair, angoratcashmere crossbred and wool fibre samples were extracted at pH 8 with 8 M urea containing dithiothreitol, and were then radiolabelled by S-carboxymethylation using iodo(2-14C) acetate. The proteins from each sample were examined by two dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in which the separation in the first dimension was according to charge at pH 8.9 and in the second dimension according to apparent molecular weight in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate. After electrophoresis the proteins were detected by fluorography. Protein differences in keratin samples from some individual goats existed, although the overall protein patterns were similar. None of the differences were consistent with any one goat fibre type. The protein patterns obtained for fibre samples from individual cashmere goats showed some differences when compared to those found for commercial blends from the same country of origin, indicating that blending can mask any animal-to-animal variation. While the electrophoretic technique does not unequivocally distinguish between cashmere, mohair and angora/cashmere crossbred fibres it does differentiate between wool and goat fibres.