| Abstract: | A zinc-binding protein was purified to homogeneity for the first time from the gonad parts of scallops, Patinopecten yessoensis, kept in filtered seawater to which no heavy metals were added. Based upon the elution profiles in two chromatographic systems, spectrophotometric analysis, and amino acid composition of the purified preparation, the protein met the criteria for classification as a metallothionein; i.e., low molecular weight (about 9000), paucity of both aromatic amino acid residues and absorbance at 280 nm, and abundance of both cysteinyl residues (> 25%) and absorbance at 215 and 254 nm. Furthermore, the results of chromatographies on a Sephacryl S-300 column and electrophoresis with or without SDS suggested that the protein molecules would be in several polymeric forms in vivo. The antiserum prepared with the purified protein as the antigen was shown to have immunocross-reactivity to neither an extract of the surf clam, Pseudocardium sybillae, nor the whelk, Neptunea arthritica, indicating the heterogeneity of the proteins in marine shellfishes. These results suggested that the Zn-binding protein purified in this study was characteristic of scallops and involved in zinc storage of this organism. |
