| 초록 |
Molluscan nacre is a fascinating biomineral consisting of a highly organized calcium carbonate composite that provides unique fracture toughness and an iridescent color. Organisms elaborately control the biomineralization using organic macromolecules. A matrix protein Pif was discovered in the nacreous layer of the pearl oyster Pinctada fucata, and that has been regarded as an essential component to induce and regulate nacre formation. Pif is post-translationally cleaved into Pif97 (N-terminal) and Pif80 (C-terminal). In this study, the genes encoding each Pif protein were genetically redesigned for the recombinant production in Escherichia coli system, and the recombinant Pif proteins were successfully expressed and purified. Calcium carbonate- and chitin-binding properties of the recombinants were investigated based on properties of naturally extracted Pifs from P. fucata. The effect of complex mixtures of recombinant Pifs and polysaccharides was also examined in in vitro calcium carbonate crystallization. Our findings can give potential to understand biomineralization mechanism of nacre and to fabricate nacre-mimicking notable materials. |
