What the data say

What the data say By Kerry Grens ARTICLE EXTRAS Feature Article 3,7 The gel does not indicate the subunit gene for which the primers were designed, although the gene for chain 1 of Fel d 1 is 1.7 kb (GenBank accession number X62477). Chain 2 is 2.4 kb (GenBank accession number X62478). Microbac's genetic analysis concludes, however, that mutations found in chain 1 "are

Written byKerry Grens

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Chapman takes less issue with the DNA gel than with Allerca's Western blot. Chapman explains that when Fel d 1 is run on gels, the molecular weight normally shows up at about 18 kDa, reflecting the two subunits of the molecule.⁸ Under reducing conditions two bands appear, one at 14 kDa and another at 4kDa.^8,9 However, control cats on Allerca's gel show no Fel d 1 bands at 18, 14, or 4 kDa. Rather, the hypoallergenic cats show bands at around 35 and 33 kDa, which are closer to the molecular weight of the native protein.

"Even if it's a labeling issue," Chapman says, "the bands don't seem to match up." Why would control cats lack any bands for the protein and why do the hypoallergenic cats have Fel d 1 bands at a higher molecular weight? "The quality of this blot is just awful," ...

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Meet the Author

Kerry Grens
Kerry served as The Scientist’s news director until 2021. Before joining The Scientist in 2013, she was a stringer for Reuters Health, the senior health and science reporter at WHYY in Philadelphia, and the health and science reporter at New Hampshire Public Radio. Kerry got her start in journalism as a AAAS Mass Media fellow at KUNC in Colorado. She has a master’s in biological sciences from Stanford University and a biology degree from Loyola University Chicago.
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