Abstract
Low angle X-ray diffraction is a powerful means of investigating long range axial order in fibrous protein structures, and α-keratin was one of the earliest materials to be studied by this method1. The observed meridional and near-meridional reflexions have been indexed2–5 as orders of an axial period of 198 Å, but there are indications6,7 that this might not be correct. This possibility has been investigated using a high resolution focusing X-ray camera8 to obtain diffraction patterns from several native keratins and from certain heavyatom derivatives of porcupine quill.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Corey, R. B., and Wyckoff, R. W. G., J. Biol. Chem., 114, 407 (1936).
MacArthur, I., Nature, 152, 38 (1943).
Bear, R. S., J. Amer. Chem. Soc., 66, 2043 (1944).
Bear, R. S., and Rugo, H. J., Ann. NY Acad. Sci., 53, 627 (1951).
Lang, A. R., Acta Cryst., 9, 446 (1956).
Onions, W. J., Woods, H. J., and Woods, P. B., Nature, 185, 157 (1960).
Dobb, M. G., Fraser, R. D. B., and MacRae, T. P., Proc. Third Intern. Wool Text. Res. Conf. Paris, 1965, 1 96.
Franks, A., Brit. J. Appl. Phys., 9, 349 (1958).
James, R. W., The Optical Principles of the Diffraction of X-rays, 563 (Bell and Sons, London, 1948).
Caspar, D. L. D., and Holmes, K. C., J. Mol. Biol., 46, 99 (1969).
Klug, A., Crick, F. H. C., and Wyckoff, H. W., Acta Cryst., 11, 199 (1958).
Fraser, R. D. B., MacRae, T. P., Millward, G. R., Parry, D. A. D., Suzuki, E., and Tulloch, P. A., J. Appl. Polymer Sci. (in the press).
Filshie, B., and Rogers, G. E., J. Mol. Biol., 3, 784 (1961).
Millward, G. R., J. Ultrastruct. Res., 31, 349 (1970).
Thompson, E. O. P., and O'Donnell, I. J., Austral. J. Biol. Sci., 18, 1207 (1965).
Astbury, W. T., Proc. First Intern. Wool Text. Res. Conf., Australia 1956, B, 202.
Fraser, R. D. B., MacRae, T. P., and Miller, A., J. Mol. Biol., 10, 147 (1964).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
FRASER, R., MACRAE, T. Structure of α-Keratin. Nature 233, 138–140 (1971). https://doi.org/10.1038/233138a0
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/233138a0
This article is cited by
-
The structure of the α-keratin microfibril
Bioscience Reports (1983)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.
