Amyloids protect the silkmoth oocyte and embryo

Chorion is the major component of silkmoth eggshell. More than 95%, of its dry mass consists of proteins that have remarkable mechanical and chemical properties protecting the oocyte and the developing embryo from a wide range of environmental hazards. We present data from electron microscopy (negative staining and shadowing), X-ray diffraction and modeling studies of synthetic peptide analogues of silkmoth chorion proteins indicating that chorion is a natural amyloid, The folding and self-assembly models of chorion peptides strongly support the beta-sheet helix model of amyloid fibrils proposed recently by Blake and Serpell [Structure 4 (1996) 989-998], (C) 2000 Federation of European Biochemical Societies. Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.