title: Adhesion of mussel foot protein Mefp-5 to mica: an underwater superglue.
abstract: Mussels have a remarkable ability to attach their holdfast, or byssus, opportunistically to a variety of substrata that are wet, saline, corroded, and/or fouled by biofilms. Mytilus edulis foot protein-5 (Mefp-5) is one of several proteins in the byssal adhesive plaque of the mussel M. edulis. The high content of 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (Dopa) (~30 mol %) and its localization near the plaque-substrate interface have often prompted speculation that Mefp-5 plays a key role in adhesion. Using the surface forces apparatus, we show that on mica surfaces Mefp-5 achieves an adhesion energy approaching E(ad) = ~-14 mJ/m(2). This exceeds the adhesion energy of another interfacial protein, Mefp-3, by a factor of 4-5 and is greater than the adhesion between highly oriented monolayers of biotin and streptavidin. The adhesion to mica is notable for its dependence on Dopa, which is most stable under reducing conditions and acidic pH. Mefp-5 also exhibits strong protein-protein interactions with itself as well as with Mefp-3 from M. edulis.
authors.affiliation: Molecular Cell and Developmental Biology Department, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA.
authors.forename: Eric W
authors.initials: EW
authors.lastname: Danner
authors.forename: Yajing
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kan
authors.forename: Malte U
authors.initials: MU
authors.lastname: Hammer
authors.forename: Jacob N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Israelachvili
authors.forename: J Herbert
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Waite
mesh_terms: D000269:Adhesives / Q000737:chemistry*; D000538:Aluminum Silicates; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D049880:Mytilus edulis / Q000737:chemistry; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D011485:Protein Binding; D011506:Proteins / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D000269:Adhesives; D000538:Aluminum Silicates; D011506:Proteins; C037403:adhesive protein, mussel; C011934:mica