Ovomucin is a

glycoprotein Glycoproteins are proteins which contain oligosaccharide chains covalently attached to amino acid side-chains. The carbohydrate is attached to the protein in a cotranslational or posttranslational modification. This process is known as glycos ...

found mainly in

egg white Egg white is the clear liquid (also called the albumen or the glair/glaire) contained within an egg. In chickens it is formed from the layers of secretions of the anterior section of the hen's oviduct during the passage of the egg. It forms arou ...

s, as well as in the

chalaza The chalaza (; from Greek "hailstone"; plural ''chalazas'' or ''chalazae'', ) is a structure inside bird eggs and plant ovules. It attaches or suspends the yolk or nucellus within the larger structure. In animals In the eggs of most birds (n ...

and

vitelline membrane The vitelline membrane or vitelline envelope is a structure surrounding the outer surface of the plasma membrane of an ovum (the oolemma) or, in some animals (e.g., birds), the extracellular yolk and the oolemma. It is composed mostly of protein f ...

. The protein makes up around 2-4% of the protein content of egg whites; like other members of the

mucin Mucins () are a family of high molecular weight, heavily glycosylated proteins (glycoconjugates) produced by epithelial tissues in most animals. Mucins' key characteristic is their ability to form gels; therefore they are a key component in most ...

protein family A protein family is a group of evolutionarily related proteins. In many cases, a protein family has a corresponding gene family, in which each gene encodes a corresponding protein with a 1:1 relationship. The term "protein family" should not be c ...

, ovomucin confers

gel A gel is a semi-solid that can have properties ranging from soft and weak to hard and tough. Gels are defined as a substantially dilute cross-linked system, which exhibits no flow when in the steady-state, although the liquid phase may still dif ...

-like properties. It is composed of two subunits, alpha-ovomucin (MUC5B) and beta-ovomucin (MUC6), of which the beta subunit is much more heavily glycosylated.

External links

References

Eggs Mucins Avian proteins {{biochemistry-stub