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AssigneesUniversity of Hawaii, The Regents of the University of California, The Governement of the United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Air Force
InventorsWendy Goodson, Margaret McFall-Ngai, Jennifer Kimbell, Joseph Horwitz, Ryan Kramer, Rajesh Naik
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A family of reflectin proteins is identified herein that is deposited in flat, structural platelets in reflective tissues of the squid Euprymna scolopes. These proteins are encoded by at least six genes in three subfamilies and have no reported homologues outside of squids. Reflectins possess 5 repeating domains, that are remarkably conserved among members of the family. The proteins have a highly unusual composition with four relatively rare residues (tyrosine, methionine, arginine, and tryptophan) comprising ˜57% of a reflectin, and several common residues (alanine, isoleucine, leucine, and lysine) occurring in none of the family members. These protein-based reflectors in squids provide a striking example of nanofabrication in animal systems.
An isolated reflectin polypeptide comprising a sequence having at least about 75% identity to SEQ ID NO:2.
An isolated polynucleotide encoding a reflectin polypeptide, said polynucleotide comprising a sequence having at least about 65% identity to SEQ ID NO:1.
An isolated polypeptide having and least one and no more than four repeats of an amino acid sequence having the motif [α(X)4/5MD(X)5MD(X)3/4], wherein α is MD, FD, or null;
An isolated polypeptide comprising six or more repeats of an amino acid sequence having the motif [α(X)4/5MD(X)5MD(X)3/4], wherein α is MD, FD, or null;
A biomimetic reflective material comprising a first component, the first component comprising at least one polypeptide selected from the group consisting of:
A method of producing a biomimetic reflective material, comprising
A method of producing a biomimetic reflective material, comprising
A method of modifying a refractive index of a reflectin, comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.