Question

What further step would you do to establish that a particular protein band in one lane is identical to (or different from) a particular band in another lane? How can you prepare a standard curve that shows the relationship between the migration distance of a protein through your electrophoresis gel and the log of its molecular weight?

Answer 1

Gel electrophoresis is the method that separates the proteins based on their molecular weight. The position of the proteins in the lande depends on their molecular weight. If two proteins have same molecular weight; they will occupy identical position in their respective lanes. On the other hand, difference in molecular weight will give them different positions in the lane.

For curve, the band length of the gel is measured for each band and the respective log shows the molecular weight of the protein. Distance travelled by each protein is measured and relative migration distance is calculated using following formula:
Rf= Migration distance of protein/ migration distance of dye front
Now, Rf and log of the molecular weight is plotted on X and Y axis respectively