Journal
SCIENCE
Volume 303, Issue 5655, Pages 235-238Publisher
AMER ASSOC ADVANCEMENT SCIENCE
DOI: 10.1126/science.1091288
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Funding
- NEI NIH HHS [NEI R01 EY3897] Funding Source: Medline
- PHS HHS [R01 A150661] Funding Source: Medline
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A family of unusual proteins is deposited in flat, structural platelets in reflective tissues of the squid Euprymna scolopes. These proteins, which we have named reflectins, are encoded by at least six genes in three subfamilies and have no reported homologs outside of squids. Reflectins possess five repeating domains, which are highly conserved among members of the family. The proteins have a very unusual composition, with four relatively rare residues (tyrosine, methionine, arginine, and tryptophan) comprising similar to57% of a reflectin, and several common residues (alanine, isoleucine, leucine, and lysine) occurring in none of the family members. These protein-based reflectors in squids provide a marked example of nanofabrication in animal systems.
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