Peroxidase-catalysed interfacial adhesion of aquatic caddisworm silk.

ABSTRACT: Casemaker caddisfly (Hesperophylax occidentalis) larvae use adhesive silk fibres to construct protective shelters under water. The silk comprises a distinct peripheral coating on a viscoelastic fibre core. Caddisworm silk peroxinectin (csPxt), a haem-peroxidase, was shown to be glycosylated by lectin affinity chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry. Using high-resolution H2O2 and peroxidase-dependent silver ion reduction and nanoparticle deposition, imaged by electron microscopy, csPxt activity was shown to be localized in the peripheral layer of drawn silk fibres. CsPxt catalyses dityrosine cross-linking within the adhesive peripheral layer post-draw, initiated perhaps by H2O2 generated by a silk gland-specific superoxide dismutase 3 (csSOD3) from environmental reactive oxygen species

SUBMITTER: Wang CS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4685843 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature