104. Evolution of Serum Proteins (EXP-104)

Antibodies can be used to study evolution at the molecular level. In this exercise, immuno-electrophoresis and double diffusion are used to illustrate this important concept. The analysis shows that cow serum proteins are similar to those from sheep and goat but are distinct from serum proteins from horse, donkey and chicken. This exercise acquaints students with basic immunological techniques and serves as an excellent illustration of the utility of these techniques for the study of protein evolution. This exercise requires two 2-3 hour laboratory periods.