The Year 13
Biology classes have tried protein separation by electrophoresis.
The agarose gel works like a sieve,
with small molecules moving quickly from the wells where they started, the large
molecules dragging along behind. This separates them according to size.
After running the plates for about eight hours a blue stain was used to make the
proteins show up.
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RESULTS: There were various outcomes. The cheeses and fish gave clearer results than the red meats did. |
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Year 13 Biology students' prep.
Add these to the questions from your practical workbook.
1. The vintage cheddar is a very mature cheese, guaranteed to be at least 30 months old. The camembert is also an aged cheese, the evidence being the crust. As cheese matures what happens to the protein? What could this group have done to produce a more convincing electrophoretic result?
2. Is there any fish in "fish sticks"? Maybe there is too little protein for it to show up clearly, but there is evidence of stained protein here. Give two ways in which this protein differs from that found in fish meat.
