A Comparison of Chloroplast Coupling Factor One, CF₁, Using Polyclonal Chicken Antibodies

Abstract

Antibodies directed against the chloroplast thylakoid coupling factor 1, CF₁, the extrinsic membrane-bound sector of the reversible energy transducing H⁺-ATP synthase complex, have been widely used to study both the enzyme structure (1–3) and subunit function and accessibility (4,5). Most antibody preparations that have been employed have been monospecific polyclonal antisera or IgG enriched fractions usually isolated from rabbits (6) although more recently some studies employing mouse hybridoma monoclonal antibodies have been reported (e.g. ref. 3). Although it is relatively easy to raise antibodies in rabbits, it usually takes several months until the animals achieve peak titre, and both the immunization and subsequent bleeding processes can be rather traumatic (7). The failure of more wide spread application of monoclonal antibodies is testament to the enormous effort required to obtain clones and subsequent tumors, a process that can require a year.