Separation and quantitative analysis of rat testis histones by one-dimensional gel electrophoresis

A procedure is presented for direct separation and quantitative analysis of histones of rat testis by use of one-dimensional cylindrical gel electrophoresis in acid/urea/polyacrylamide gels at two concentrations of urea. After separation and staining with amido black the histone fractions are determined by extraction of bound dye and spectrophotometric analysis. This method provides a rapid and accurate procedure for determination of microgram amounts of the histone subfractions which are unique to the testis as well as those which are found in somatic cells, and it is particularly useful for determination of molar proportions of the histones.