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Synthesis and properties of crosslinked recombinant pro-resilin

Nature volume 437, pages 999–1002 (2005)Cite this article

Abstract

Resilin is a member of a family of elastic proteins that includes elastin, as well as gluten, gliadin, abductin and spider silks. Resilin is found in specialized regions of the cuticle of most insects, providing low stiffness, high strain and efficient energy storage1,2; it is best known for its roles in insect flight3,4 and the remarkable jumping ability of fleas5,6 and spittle bugs7. Previously, the Drosophila melanogaster CG15920 gene was tentatively identified as one encoding a resilin-like protein8,9 (pro-resilin). Here we report the cloning and expression of the first exon of the Drosophila CG15920 gene as a soluble protein in Escherichia coli. We show that this recombinant protein can be cast into a rubber-like biomaterial by rapid photochemical crosslinking. This observation validates the role of the putative elastic repeat motif in resilin function. The resilience (recovery after deformation) of crosslinked recombinant resilin was found to exceed that of unfilled synthetic polybutadiene, a high resilience rubber. We believe that our work will greatly facilitate structural investigations into the functional properties of resilin and shed light on more general aspects of the structure of elastomeric proteins. In addition, the ability to rapidly cast samples of this biomaterial may enable its use in situ for both industrial and biomedical applications.

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Figure 1: Purification and crosslinking of soluble recombinant rec1-resilin.
Figure 2: Dityrosine formation in crosslinked recombinant rec1-resilin.
Figure 3: Elastic properties of crosslinked recombinant resilin.
Figure 4: Real-time quantitative RT–PCR analysis of expression of the Drosophila CG15920 gene.

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Acknowledgements

We thank J. Abbenante for preparative scale reverse-phase HPLC purification of dityrosine and for mass spectrometry. The technical assistance of L. Conlan is acknowledged for HPLC analysis of dityrosine. We are grateful to A. Brownlee and R. Tellam for critical reading of the manuscript. This work was supported by a CSIRO Nanotechnology Emerging Sciences Initiative grant.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CSIRO Livestock Industries, Queensland Bioscience Precinct, 4072, St Lucia, Australia

    Christopher M. Elvin, Andrew G. Carr, Roger D. Pearson, Tony Vuocolo, Nancy E. Liyou & Darren C. C. Wong

  2. CSIRO Textile and Fibre Technology, PO Box 21, 3216, Geelong, Australia

    Mickey G. Huson & Jane M. Maxwell

  3. School of Integrative Biology, University of Queensland, 4072, St Lucia, Australia

    Darren C. C. Wong & David J. Merritt

  4. Research School of Chemistry, Australian National University, 0200, Canberra, Australia

    Nicholas E. Dixon

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  1. Christopher M. Elvin
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Correspondence to Christopher M. Elvin.

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Elvin, C., Carr, A., Huson, M. et al. Synthesis and properties of crosslinked recombinant pro-resilin. Nature 437, 999–1002 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature04085

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