Glycoproteins Secreted by Sublingual Glands of the Echidna (Tachyglossus Aculeatus)

The portion of echnida sublingual glycoproteins which could be solubilized was fractionated by electrophoresis in polyacrylamide gel and by filtration on a column of Sephadex G-100. Analyses for carbohydrate and amino acid are given and are compared with those of the submaxillary mucins of cattle, dog, pig and sheep. The molar ratio of galactosamine to sialic acid was roughly 1:1 in the echidna fractions, the sialic acid was N-acetyl-neuraminic acid, and there was very little neutral sugar. Proline was relatively high in amount, and isoleucine, half-cystine, methionine, leucine, tyrosine, and phenylalanine were absent or present to a very small extent. The material was weakly antigenic in the rabbit.