Hexagonal columnar liquid crystal in the cells secreting spider silk

Citation
D. Knight et F. Vollrath, Hexagonal columnar liquid crystal in the cells secreting spider silk, TISSUE CELL, 31(6), 1999, pp. 617-620
Citations number
23
Categorie Soggetti
Cell & Developmental Biology
Journal title
TISSUE & CELL
ISSN journal
00408166 → ACNP
Volume
31
Issue
6
Year of publication
1999
Pages
617 - 620
Database
ISI
SICI code
0040-8166(199912)31:6<617:HCLCIT>2.0.ZU;2-R
Abstract
The liquid crystallinity of spider dragline silk dope is thought to be impo rtant for both the spinning process and the extreme mechanical properties o f the final thread. Although the formation of the liquid crystalline units is poorly understood, it has been suggested that spider silk proteins are s ecreted in a random coil and then aggregate end-to-end into rod-shaped unit s to form supramolecular liquid crystals. However, evidence presented here from transmission electron microscopy indicates that coat protein of the dr agline silk of a Nephila spider is stored as hexagonal columnar liquid crys tals within the intracellular secretory vesicles. This implies that this. c omponent is already folded into short rods within the gland cells and forms molecular rather than supramolecular liquid crystals, (C) 1999 Harcourt Pu blishers Ltd.