Reflectin

Leucophore layer composition

Reflectins are a family of intrinsically disordered proteins evolved by a certain number of cephalopods including Euprymna scolopes and Doryteuthis opalescens to produce iridescent camouflage and signaling. The recently identified protein family is enriched in aromatic and sulfur-containing amino acids, and is utilized by certain cephalopods to refract incident light in their environment.[1] The reflectin protein is responsible for dynamic pigmentation and iridescence in organisms. This process is "dynamic" due to its reversible properties, allowing reflectin to change an organism's appearance in response to external factors such as needing to camouflage or send warning signals.

Reflectin proteins are likely distributed in the outer layer of cells called "sheath cells" that surround an organism's pigment cells also known as chromatocyte.[2] Specific sequences of reflectin ables cephalopods to communicate and camouflage by adjusting color and reflectivity.[3]

  1. ^ DeMartini DG, Izumi M, Weaver AT, Pandolfi E, Morse DE (June 2015). "Structures, Organization, and Function of Reflectin Proteins in Dynamically Tunable Reflective Cells". The Journal of Biological Chemistry. 290 (24): 15238–49. doi:10.1074/jbc.M115.638254. PMC 4463464. PMID 25918159.
  2. ^ Song, Junyi; Levenson, Robert; Santos, Jerome; Velazquez, Lourdes; Zhang, Fan; Fygenson, Deborah; Wu, Wenjian; Morse, Daniel E. (2020-03-17). "Reflectin Proteins Bind and Reorganize Synthetic Phospholipid Vesicles". Langmuir. 36 (10): 2673–2682. doi:10.1021/acs.langmuir.9b03632. ISSN 0743-7463. PMID 32097553. S2CID 211525202.
  3. ^ Kim, Meeri (2017-08-21). "New research on reflectin proteins sheds light on cephalopods' camouflage". Scilight. 2017 (9): 090008. doi:10.1063/1.5000813.