ACS Nano. 2014 Jul 22;8(7):7170-9. doi: 10.1021/nn502149u.
The predatory efficiency of squid and cuttlefish (superorder Decapodiformes) is enhanced by robust Sucker Ring Teeth (SRT) that perform grappling functions during prey capture. Here, we show that SRT are composed entirely of related structural “suckerin” proteins whose modular designs enable the formation of nanoconfined β-sheet-reinforced polymer networks. Thirty-seven previously undiscovered suckerins were identified from transcriptomes assembled from three distantly related decapodiform cephalopods. Similarity in modular sequence design and exon–intron architecture suggests that suckerins are encoded by a multigene family. Phylogenetic analysis supports this view, revealing that suckerin genes originated in a common ancestor ~350 MYa and indicating that nanoconfined β-sheet reinforcement is an ancient strategy to create robust bulk biomaterials. X-ray diffraction, nanomechanical, and micro-Raman spectroscopy measurements confirm that the modular design of the suckerins facilitates the formation of β-sheets of precise nanoscale dimensions and enables their assembly into structurally robust supramolecular networks stabilized by cooperative hydrogen bonding. The suckerin gene family has likely played a key role in the evolutionary success of decapodiform cephalopods and provides a large molecular toolbox for biomimetic materials engineering.
鱿鱼和乌贼（十足目）的捕食效率通过强大的吸盘环齿（SRT）得到提高，这些环齿在捕食猎物时起到抓握的作用。在这里，我们表明 SRT 完全由相关的结构“吸盘”蛋白组成，其模块化设计能够形成纳米受限的β-片层增强聚合物网络。从三个远缘十足目头足类动物的转录组组装中鉴定出 37 个以前未发现的吸盘蛋白。相似的模块化序列设计和外显子-内含子结构表明，吸盘蛋白由一个多基因家族编码。系统发育分析支持这一观点，表明吸盘蛋白基因起源于约 3.5 亿年前的一个共同祖先，并表明纳米受限的β-片层增强是创造坚固块状生物材料的古老策略。X 射线衍射、纳米力学和微拉曼光谱测量证实，吸盘蛋白的模块化设计促进了精确纳米尺寸的β-片层的形成，并能够将其组装成结构坚固的超分子网络，由协同氢键稳定。吸盘蛋白基因家族可能在十足目头足类动物的进化成功中发挥了关键作用，并为仿生材料工程提供了一个大型分子工具包。
