Conserved leucine-rich repeat proteins in the adhesive projectile slime of velvet worms

Conserved leucine-rich repeat proteins in the adhesive projectile slime of velvet worms

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

10.1073/pnas.2416282122

https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2416282122

Zhaolong Hu, Alexander Baer, Lars Hering, Ivo de Sena Oliveira, Alexandre Poulhazan, Darren C. Browne, Xue Guo, Quentin Moana Perrin, Radoslaw M. Sobota, Shawn Hoon, Georg Mayer, Srinivasaraghavan Kannan, Chandra S. Verma, Matthew J. Harrington, Ali Miserez

Proteomics, transcriptomic, structure prediction, Onychophora, fiber formation

18 March 2025

Hu, Z., Baer, A., Hering, L., de Sena Oliveira, I., Poulhazan, A., Browne, D. C., Guo, X., Perrin, Q. M., Sobota, R. M., Hoon, S., Mayer, G., Kannan, S., Verma, C. S., Harrington, M. J., & Miserez, A. (2025). Conserved leucine-rich repeat proteins in the adhesive projectile slime of velvet worms. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 122(12). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2416282122

The slime of velvet worms (Onychophora) is a protein-based bioadhesive that undergoes rapid, yet reversible transition from a fluid into stiff fibers used for prey capture and defense, but the mechanism by which this phase transition functions is largely unknown. Here, integrating transcriptomic and proteomic approaches with AI-guided structure predictions, we discover a group of evolutionarily conserved leucine-rich repeat (LRR) proteins in velvet worm slime that readily adopt a receptor-like, protein-binding “horseshoe” structure. Our structural predictions suggest dimerization of LRR proteins and support their interactions with conserved β-sheet-rich domains of high-molecular-weight proteins, the primary building blocks of velvet worm slime fibers. This suggests that LRR proteins might be involved in reversible, receptor-based supramolecular interactions in these biofibers, providing potential avenues for fabricating fully recyclable (bio)polymeric materials.

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

This research is supported by core funding from: A*STAR
Grant Reference no. : Nil

This research / project is supported by the Singapore National Research Foundation - NRF- SIS “SingMass” scheme (RMS)
Grant Reference no. : Nil

https://oar.a-star.edu.sg/communities-collections/articles/22661

0027-8424
1091-6490

Bioinformatics Institute