Effects of γ-Rays on the Serologic Properties of Ovalbumin

[摘要] Samples of lyophilized ovalbumin were irradiated, under vacuum in a high energy, uniform field of γ-rays, to absorb dosages of 30, 60 and 100 electron volts/molecule (6.5, 13.0 and 21.7 × 106 rads). Solutions of the γ-irradiated ovalbumins were fractionated by promptly precipitating the radiation-denatured molecules at the isoelectric point of native ovalbumin, and by heating the neutral systems at 50°, 60° and 68°C and by precipitating the thermolabile constituents at the isoelectric point. Quantitative serologic tests on the solutions revealed that the irradiated ovalbumins had a dose-related loss of correspondence to native protein. Removal of the radiation-denatured and thermolabile constituents improved the correspondence of the supernatants to the native solutions. Supernatants from native and irradiated preparations, heated at 68°C, showed thermal damage serologically. Radiation-denatured and thermolabile proteins exhibited a low, essentially constant and doseunrelated serologic correspondence to native ovalbumin. The serologic data are interpreted as revealing, in γ-irradiated lyophilized ovalbumin, the existence of a spectrum of molecules exhibiting various degrees of structural degradation.

[学科分类] 生物科学（综合）