Morphological Transformations in the Magnetite Biomineralizing Protein Mms6 in Iron Solutions: A Small-Angle X-ray Scattering Study

Thumbnail Image
Supplemental Files
Date
2015-01-01
Authors
Liu, Xunpei
Feng, Shuren
Wang, Wenjie
Schmidt-Rohr, Klaus
Akinc, Mufit
Nilsen-Hamilton, Marit
Vaknin, David
Major Professor
Advisor
Committee Member
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Authors
Person
Mallapragada, Surya
Associate Vice President
Person
Nilsen-Hamilton, Marit
University Professor
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Organizational Unit
Organizational Unit
Organizational Unit
Physics and Astronomy
Physics and astronomy are basic natural sciences which attempt to describe and provide an understanding of both our world and our universe. Physics serves as the underpinning of many different disciplines including the other natural sciences and technological areas.
Organizational Unit
Materials Science and Engineering
Materials engineers create new materials and improve existing materials. Everything is limited by the materials that are used to produce it. Materials engineers understand the relationship between the properties of a material and its internal structure — from the macro level down to the atomic level. The better the materials, the better the end result — it’s as simple as that.
Organizational Unit
Journal Issue
Is Version Of
Versions
Series
Department
Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular BiologyAmes National LaboratoryPhysics and AstronomyMaterials Science and EngineeringChemical and Biological EngineeringChemistry
Abstract

Magnetotactic bacteria that produce magnetic nanocrystals of uniform size and well-defined morphologies have inspired the use of biomineralization protein Mms6 to promote formation of uniform magnetic nanocrystals in vitro. Small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) studies in physiological solutions reveal that Mms6 forms compact globular three-dimensional (3D) micelles (approximately 10 nm in diameter) that are, to a large extent, independent of concentration. In the presence of iron ions in the solutions, the general micellar morphology is preserved, however, with associations among micelles that are induced by iron ions. Compared with Mms6, the m2Mms6 mutant (with the sequence of hydroxyl/carboxyl containing residues in the C-terminal domain shuffled) exhibits subtle morphological changes in the presence of iron ions in solutions. The analysis of the SAXS data is consistent with a hierarchical core–corona micellar structure similar to that found in amphiphilic polymers. The addition of ferric and ferrous iron ions to the protein solution induces morphological changes in the micellar structure by transforming the 3D micelles into objects of reduced dimensionality of 2, with fractal-like characteristics (including Gaussian-chain-like) or, alternatively, platelet-like structures.

Comments

Reprinted (adapted) with permission from Langmuir, 2015, 31 (9), pp 2818–2825, DOI: 10.1021/la5044377. Copyright (2015) American Chemical Society.

Description
Keywords
Citation
DOI
Copyright
Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 UTC 2015
Collections