A genetic analysis of crystal growth

The regulation of crystal morphology by proteins is often observed in biology. It is a central feature in the formation of hard tissues such as bones, teeth and mollusc shells. We have developed a genetic system in the bacterium Escherichia coli to study the protein-mediated control of crystal growt...

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Veröffentlicht in:	Journal of molecular biology 2000-06, Vol.299 (3), p.725-735
Hauptverfasser:	Brown, S, Sarikaya, M, Johnson, E
Format:	Artikel
Sprache:	eng
Schlagworte:	Acids - metabolism Alkaline Phosphatase - metabolism Amino Acid Sequence Binding Sites Catalysis Cloning, Molecular Crystallization Escherichia coli Escherichia coli - genetics Evolution, Molecular Gold - chemistry Gold - metabolism Hydrogen-Ion Concentration Kinetics Microscopy, Electron Molecular Sequence Data Mutation - genetics Peptide Library Peptides - chemistry Peptides - genetics Peptides - metabolism Protein Binding Sequence Alignment Sequence Analysis, DNA Substrate Specificity
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Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung:	The regulation of crystal morphology by proteins is often observed in biology. It is a central feature in the formation of hard tissues such as bones, teeth and mollusc shells. We have developed a genetic system in the bacterium Escherichia coli to study the protein-mediated control of crystal growth. We have used the crystallization of gold as a model system and found polypeptides that control the morphology of the resulting gold crystals. Analysis of the crystallization process influenced by these polypeptides indicates they act catalytically by an acid mechanism. Our results suggest that the concepts and methods of microbial genetics are general and can be applied to substances not commonly found in biological systems.
ISSN:	0022-2836
DOI:	10.1006/jmbi.2000.3682