Introduction Actin and myosin are two major proteins that are involved in muscle contraction. Actin is the main constituent of thin filaments in muscle cells, whereas myosin, comprised of a head and tail region, is the main component of thick filaments. These proteins coordinate muscle contraction by means of a sliding mechanism whereby myosin heads affix to the thin filaments, composed of actin, and revolve, resulting in an overlap of the filaments whereby stretching or contraction of a muscle occurs. While it was believed that actin and myosin were only involved in muscle contraction, recent scientific investigation has determined that these “muscle proteins”, also work in several other processes including the formation of contractile rings
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Both high salt and low salt buffers were used to precipitate these proteins out of solution, consequential of their differing properties. By visual inspection, after the addition of high salt buffer to one muscle sample and low salt buffer to the other, actin and myosin were isolated. Further, the purity of the purity of the protein samples was evaluated by running an SDS-PAGE (PolyAcrylamide Gel Electrophoresis) to denature the proteins and induce a large negative charge whereby gel electrophoresis is used to pull the proteins through the gel for identification based on size ("SDS-PAGE", 2016). Finally, to be able to detect actin and myosin among a complex of several other proteins from the initial sample, the Western blot mark the target proteins for identification, achieved by using gel electrophoresis to separate the proteins and then staining them with antibodies explicit to the proteins in question (St. John's Laboratory Ltd, 2016). Overall, this investigation was conducted to expose students to various laboratory techniques used in modern cellular biology. Throughout ones undergraduate, graduate, post-graduate education and scientific career, it is important that students are familiar with the theory and procedures of the aforementioned techniques. Practice and mastery of these skills is essential as it will enable students to make significant contributions to the scientific and
Both high salt and low salt buffers were used to precipitate these proteins out of solution, consequential of their differing properties. By visual inspection, after the addition of high salt buffer to one muscle sample and low salt buffer to the other, actin and myosin were isolated. Further, the purity of the purity of the protein samples was evaluated by running an SDS-PAGE (PolyAcrylamide Gel Electrophoresis) to denature the proteins and induce a large negative charge whereby gel electrophoresis is used to pull the proteins through the gel for identification based on size ("SDS-PAGE", 2016). Finally, to be able to detect actin and myosin among a complex of several other proteins from the initial sample, the Western blot mark the target proteins for identification, achieved by using gel electrophoresis to separate the proteins and then staining them with antibodies explicit to the proteins in question (St. John's Laboratory Ltd, 2016). Overall, this investigation was conducted to expose students to various laboratory techniques used in modern cellular biology. Throughout ones undergraduate, graduate, post-graduate education and scientific career, it is important that students are familiar with the theory and procedures of the aforementioned techniques. Practice and mastery of these skills is essential as it will enable students to make significant contributions to the scientific and