Serological Studies of Crustacea Especially on the Serum Protein of Crawfish, Cambarus klarkii

Abstract

Hemocyanin is the major component of the proteins contained in the crawfish serum, and other kinds of protein than hemocyanin are hardly demonstrable by Tiserius' electrophoretic method or ordinary paper electrophoresis. But by the immuno-electrophoretic method in agar-gel and the electrophoresis on cellulose acetate membrane the presence of 4 fractions of protein in the serum are detected with a hemocyanin zone. These 4 fractions are considered as globulin because of their electrophoretic mobility and precipitation by 40 % saturation of ammonium sulphate. The humoral antibody, precipitin, produced in the blood of the crawfish after the injection of heterogenous serum protein (goat serum) seems to be co ntained in the slowest globulin.
Sedimentation measurements of hemocyanin which was isolated by centrifugation under 110,800 G, shows 2 resembled and closed peaks with S20 about 24 and 16. These 2 components of hemocyanin are present in almost equal amount. The change of pH of the solution within a range of 6.4-8.3 seems to have no influence to the amounts of these 2 hemocyanins. It is confirmed that these 2 components have different antigenicity in precipitin reaction. The hemocyanin solution dyalised by the borate buffer containing KCN, shows same precipitin reaction as original hemocyanin, so that the copper in the hemocyanin molecule may have no effect on this antigenicity.