Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.

Science 17 April 1981:
Vol. 212. no. 4492, pp. 326 - 328
DOI: 10.1126/science.212.4492.326
Prev | Table of Contents | Next

Articles

Threads in the Hagfish Slime Gland Thread Cells: Organization, Biochemical Features, and Length

STEPHEN W. DOWNING 1, ROBERT H. SPITZER 2, WILMAR L. SALO 3, J. SCOTT DOWNING 4, LEO J. SAIDEL 5, and ELIZABETH A. KOCH 5

1 Department of Biomedical Anatomy, University of Minnesota School of Medicine, Duluth 55812
2 Department of Biochemistry, Chicago Medical School, North Chicago, Illinois 60664
3 Department of Biochemistry, University of Minnesota School of Medicine
4 Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Nebraska, Omaha 68182
5 Department of Biochemistry, Chicago Medical School

Scanning electron microscopy in conjunction with cell isolation procedures revealed details of the packing of threads in hagfish slime gland thread cells. Biochemical studies indicate that the thread is largely composed of a protein subunit with a molecular weight of 63,500. Mathematical calculations suggest that the thread may attain lengths of 60 centimeters or more.

Submitted on June 12, 1980
Revised on October 17, 1980


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
From ultra-soft slime to hard {alpha}-keratins: The many lives of intermediate filaments.
D. S. Fudge, T. Winegard, R.H. Ewoldt, D. Beriault, L. Szewciw, and G.H. McKinley (2009)
Integr. Comp. Biol. 49, 32-39
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Hagfish slime ecomechanics: testing the gill-clogging hypothesis.
J. Lim, D. S. Fudge, N. Levy, and J. M. Gosline (2006)
J. Exp. Biol. 209, 702-710
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Composition, morphology and mechanics of hagfish slime.
D. S. Fudge, N. Levy, S. Chiu, and J. M. Gosline (2005)
J. Exp. Biol. 208, 4613-4625
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
An unusual intermediate filament subunit from the cytoskeletal biopolymer released extracellularly into seawater by the primitive hagfish (Eptatretus stouti).
E. Koch, R. Spitzer, R. Pithawalla, and D. Parry (1994)
J. Cell Sci. 107, 3133-3144
   Abstract »    PDF »
The hagfish slime gland: a model system for studying the biology of mucus.
S. Downing, W. Salo, R. Spitzer, and E. Koch (1981)
Science 214, 1143-1145
   Abstract »    PDF »


To Advertise     Find Products

Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)