| Primary Identifier | IPR002964 | Type | Family |
| Short Name | Adhesive_plaq |
| description | An impressive property of mussels is their ability to stick to wet surfaces.Exactly how they do this is unclear, but they are known to exploit bundlesof threads, each of which has a fibrous collagenous core coated with adhesive proteins []. These proteins are able to displace water from a wet surface and then set to form tight junctions.The adhesive protein of Mytilus coruscus (Sea mussel) contains 848 amino acids, including a 20-residue signal peptide, a 21-residue non-repetitive linker and a repetitive domain that constitutes the bulk of the protein. The representative repeat motif of this domain, YKPK(I/P)(S/T)YPP(T/S), is similar to that of Mytilus galloprovincialis (Mediterranean mussel). The codon usage patterns for the same amino acids differ in different positions of the decapeptide motif[, ]. Almost identical nucleotide sequences appear several times in the repetitive region, suggesting that mussel adhesive protein genes have evolved through repeat duplication []. The repeat motif is reminiscent of repeat units found in extensins, a group of plant proteins involved in the strengthening of the cell wall in response to mechanical stress. |
