Tough Coating Proteins: Subtle Sequence Variation Modulates Cohesion
By Das, Saurabh; Miller, Dusty R.; Kaufman, Yair; Rodriguez, Nadine R. Martinez; Pallaoro, Alessia; Harrington, Matthew J.; Gylys, Maryte; Israelachvili, Jacob N. & Waite, J. Herbert
Published in Biomacromolecules
2015
Abstract
Mussel foot protein-1 (mfp-1) is an essential constituent of the protective cuticle covering all exposed portions of the byssus (plaque and the thread) that marine mussels use to attach to intertidal rocks. The reversible complexation of Fe?+ by the 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (Dopa) side chains in mfp-1 in Mytilus californianus cuticle is responsible for its high extensibility (120\%) as well as its stiffness (2 GPa) due to the formation of sacrificial bonds that help to dissipate energy and avoid acc