Effect of Mutations on the Proteins of Wool and Hair

The proteins of wool from Felting Lustre Merino mutant, hair from the naked mutant of mice, and cystine-deficient human hair are compared in each case with the proteins from the normal keratin. The data suggest that genes involved in the regulation of follicle differentiation are often mutated, but this alone may be insufficient to account for all the changes, particularly in the case of the naked mouse hair. Results are presented in support of the concept of heterogeneity of trichothiodystrophy in man.