PUBLICATION
Plate-like Guanine Biocrystals Form via Templated Nucleation of Crystal Leaflets on Preassembled Scaffolds
- Authors
- Eyal, Z., Deis, R., Varsano, N., Dezorella, N., Rechav, K., Houben, L., Gur, D.
- ID
- ZDB-PUB-221206-11
- Date
- 2022
- Source
- Journal of the American Chemical Society 144(49): 22440-22445 (Journal)
- Registered Authors
- Eyal, Zohar, Gur, Dvir
- Keywords
- none
- MeSH Terms
-
- Animals
- Guanine*
- Zebrafish*
- PubMed
- 36469805 Full text @ J. Am. Chem. Soc.
Citation
Eyal, Z., Deis, R., Varsano, N., Dezorella, N., Rechav, K., Houben, L., Gur, D. (2022) Plate-like Guanine Biocrystals Form via Templated Nucleation of Crystal Leaflets on Preassembled Scaffolds. Journal of the American Chemical Society. 144(49):22440-22445.
Abstract
Controlling the morphology of crystalline materials is challenging, as crystals have a strong tendency toward thermodynamically stable structures. Yet, organisms form crystals with distinct morphologies, such as the plate-like guanine crystals produced by many terrestrial and aquatic species for light manipulation. Regulation of crystal morphogenesis was hypothesized to entail physical growth restriction by the surrounding membrane, combined with fine-tuned interactions between organic molecules and the growing crystal. Using cryo-electron tomography of developing zebrafish larvae, we found that guanine crystals form via templated nucleation of thin leaflets on preassembled scaffolds made of 20-nm-thick amyloid fibers. These leaflets then merge and coalesce into a single plate-like crystal. Our findings shed light on the biological regulation of crystal morphogenesis, which determines their optical properties.
Genes / Markers
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping