An investigation of the structure of silk fibroin.

Abstract An investigation based on new X-ray diffraction data, including quantitative spectrometric measurements of X-ray intensities, has led to the derivation of the fundamental structural features of silk fibroin. The structure consists of extended polypeptide chains bonded together by lateral N—H…O hydrogen bonds to form antiparallel-chain pleated sheets. The sequence-G-X-G-X-G-X-in which G represents glycyl and X alanyl or seryl residues predominates throughout the structure, so that adjacent sheets pack together at distances of about 3.5 and 5.7 A. Longer inter-sheet distances are explained by the presence in the structure of the larger amino-acid residues, such as tyrosine.

[1]  Robert Hegetschweiler.  Ueber den Feinbau des Seidenfibroins , 1949 .

[2]  Linus Pauling,et al.  Molecular Models of Amino Acids, Peptides, and Proteins , 1953 .

[3]  K. Meyer,et al.  Contribution à l'étude de la constitution de la fibroïne de soie , 1940 .

[4]  R. Corey,et al.  The Crystal Structure of Glycine , 1939 .

[5]  P. Desnuelle,et al.  Sur la moindre résistance a l'hydrolyse acide des liaisons peptidiques situées a côté d'une fonction hydroxyle , 1948 .

[6]  S. G. Smith,et al.  30—THE CHEMISTRY OF SILK FIBROIN I. THE ACTION OF SOME PROTEOLYTIC ENZYMES ON FIBROIN IN AQUEOUS SOLUTION, AND ITS BEARING ON THE MOLECULAR STRUCTURE OF SILK , 1953 .

[7]  R. Herzog,et al.  Über den physikalischen Aufbau einiger hochmolekularer organischer Verbindungen. (1. vorläufige Mitteilung.) , 1920 .

[8]  R. Herzog,et al.  Über deformationsversuche bei faserstoffen , 1929 .

[9]  M. Levy,et al.  Sequences of amino acid residues in silk fibroin. , 1952, The Journal of biological chemistry.

[10]  H. Mark,et al.  Über den Aufbau des Seiden‐Fibroins , 1928 .

[11]  A. Elliott.  Infra-Red Dichroism in Synthetic Polypeptides , 1953, Nature.

[12]  L. Pauling,et al.  Two hydrogen-bonded spiral configurations of the polypeptide chain , 1950 .

[13]  M. Huggins.  The Structure of Fibrous Proteins. , 1943 .

[14]  H. Zahn.  Zur Elektronenmikroskopie der Naturseide , 1949 .

[15]  W. Schroeder,et al.  The Chromatographic Separation and Identification of Some Peptides in Partial Hydrolysates of Silk Fibroin , 1954 .

[16]  S. G. Smith,et al.  Structure of Silk Fibroin , 1950, Nature.

[17]  L. Brown,et al.  β-Forms of Fibrous Proteins and Synthetic Polypeptides , 1953, Nature.

[18]  H. A. Levy,et al.  The Crystal Structure of dl-Alanine , 1941 .

[19]  O. Kratky,et al.  X-ray and U.-V. spectrographic investigations of fibrous and globular modifications of silk fibroin , 1951 .