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Science 9 January 2004:
Vol. 303. no. 5655, pp. 235 - 238
DOI: 10.1126/science.1091288
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Reports

Reflectins: The Unusual Proteins of Squid Reflective Tissues

Wendy J. Crookes,1 Lin-Lin Ding,2 Qing Ling Huang,2 Jennifer R. Kimbell,1 Joseph Horwitz,2 Margaret J. McFall-Ngai1*

A family of unusual proteins is deposited in flat, structural platelets in reflective tissues of the squid Euprymna scolopes. These proteins, which we have named reflectins, are encoded by at least six genes in three subfamilies and have no reported homologs outside of squids. Reflectins possess five repeating domains, which are highly conserved among members of the family. The proteins have a very unusual composition, with four relatively rare residues (tyrosine, methionine, arginine, and tryptophan) comprising ~57% of a reflectin, and several common residues (alanine, isoleucine, leucine, and lysine) occurring in none of the family members. These protein-based reflectors in squids provide a marked example of nanofabrication in animal systems.

1 Kewalo Marine Laboratory, Pacific Biomedical Research Center, University of Hawaii–Manoa, 41 Ahui Street, Honolulu, HI 96813, USA.
2 Jules Stein Eye Institute, University of California–Los Angeles, 100 Stein Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: mcfallng{at}hawaii.edu

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THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
The Hawaiian Bobtail Squid (Euprymna scolopes): A Model to Study the Molecular Basis of Eukaryote-Prokaryote Mutualism and the Development and Evolution of Morphological Novelties in Cephalopods.
P. N. Lee, M. J. McFall-Ngai, P. Callaerts, and H. G. de Couet (2009)
CSH Protocols 2009, pdb.emo135
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Confocal Immunocytochemistry of Embryonic and Juvenile Hawaiian Bobtail Squid (Euprymna scolopes) Tissues.
P. N. Lee, M. J. McFall-Ngai, P. Callaerts, and H. G. de Couet (2009)
CSH Protocols 2009, pdb.prot5320
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Changes in reflectin protein phosphorylation are associated with dynamic iridescence in squid.
M. Izumi, A. M. Sweeney, D. DeMartini, J. C. Weaver, M. L. Powers, A. Tao, T. V. Silvas, R. M. Kramer, W. J. Crookes-Goodson, L. M. Mathger, et al. (2009)
J R Soc Interface
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From the Cover: Evidence for light perception in a bioluminescent organ.
D. Tong, N. S. Rozas, T. H. Oakley, J. Mitchell, N. J. Colley, and M. J. McFall-Ngai (2009)
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Mechanisms and behavioural functions of structural coloration in cephalopods.
L. M Mathger, E. J Denton, N. J. Marshall, and R. T Hanlon (2009)
J R Soc Interface 6, S149-S163
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Spectral and spatial properties of polarized light reflections from the arms of squid (Loligo pealeii) and cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis L.).
T.-H. Chiou, L. M. Mathger, R. T. Hanlon, and T. W. Cronin (2007)
J. Exp. Biol. 210, 3624-3635
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Anatomical basis for camouflaged polarized light communication in squid.
L. M Mathger and R. T Hanlon (2006)
Biol Lett 2, 494-496
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The role of muscarinic receptors and intracellular Ca2+ in the spectral reflectivity changes of squid iridophores.
L. M. Mathger, T. F. T. Collins, and P. A. Lima (2004)
J. Exp. Biol. 207, 1759-1769
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