ArticleNature chemical biology2015
Infiltration of chitin by protein coacervates defines the squid beak mechanical gradient.
Article in Nature chemical biology, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 60 papers.
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Who cites it
60 citing papers in PubMed, 210 citations in OpenAlex.
- Coacervates as bio-inspired intermediates for materials processing.Chemical communications (Cambridge, England) · 2026Review
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- Dynamic and Catalytic Multiphase Coacervates.Biomacromolecules · 2026Article
- A natural solution from caterpillar cuticles for flexible impact-resistant materials.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Coacervate-Mediated Lysosome-Targeting Antibody Delivery for Protein Degradation.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Nanocondensate bioadhesive delivery via metal-halogenated catechol coordination in tunicate rhizoid holdfasts.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- ATP-sensitive peptide-based coacervates for intracellular delivery of therapeutic oligonucleotides.Frontiers in molecular biosciences · 2026Article
- Interplay between β-Chitin Nanocrystal Supramolecular Architecture and Water Structuring: Insights from Three-Dimensional Atomic force Microscopy Measurements and Molecular Dynamics Simulations.Journal of the American Chemical Society · 2025Article
- Smart coacervate microdroplets: biomimetic design, material innovations, and emerging applications in biomacromolecule delivery.Bioactive materials · 2025Review
- Peptide coacervates as intracellular delivery vehicles for synergistic cancer photothermal- and chemo-therapies.APL bioengineering · 2025Article
- Nature-Inspired Gradient Material Structure with Exceptional Properties for Automotive Parts.Materials (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- A designer minimalistic model parallels the phase-separation-mediated assembly and biophysical cues of extracellular matrix.Nature chemistry · 2025Article
- Extrusion of Heterogeneous Filament-like Structures: A New Paradigm in Fabricating Soft Mechanical Gradient with Long Span.Small science · 2025Article
- Cephalopod proteins for bioinspired and sustainable biomaterials design.Materials today. Bio · 2025Review
- Proteomic analyses reveal the key role of gene co-option in the evolution of the scaly-foot snail scleritome.Communications biology · 2025Article
- Phase-separating peptide coacervates with programmable material properties for universal intracellular delivery of macromolecules.Nature communications · 2024Article
- Cellular Uptake of Phase-Separating Peptide Coacervates.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2024Article
- Reversible and size-controlled assembly of reflectin proteins using a charged azobenzene photoswitch.Chemical science · 2024Article
- Controlling Drug Partitioning in Individual Protein Condensates through Laser-Induced Microscale Phase Transitions.Journal of the American Chemical Society · 2024Article
- Regulation of enzymatic reactions by chemical composition of peptide biomolecular condensates.Communications chemistry · 2024Article
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8 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
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Abstract
The beak of the jumbo squid Dosidicus gigas is a fascinating example of how seamlessly nature builds with mechanically mismatched materials. A 200-fold stiffness gradient begins in the hydrated chitin of the soft beak base and gradually increases to maximum stiffness in the dehydrated distal rostrum. Here, we combined RNA-Seq and proteomics to show that the beak contains two protein families. One family consists of chitin-binding proteins (DgCBPs) that physically join chitin chains, whereas the other family comprises highly modular histidine-rich proteins (DgHBPs). We propose that DgHBPs play multiple key roles during beak bioprocessing, first by forming concentrated coacervate solutions that diffuse into the DgCBP-chitin scaffold, and second by inducing crosslinking via an abundant GHG sequence motif. These processes generate spatially controlled desolvation, resulting in the impressive biomechanical gradient. Our findings provide novel molecular-scale strategies for designing functional gradient materials.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.