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Updated: May 26, 2026

Atomic Scale Structural Studies of Macromolecular Assemblies by Solid-state Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy
Published on: September 17, 2017
An amyloid organelle, solid-state NMR evidence for cross-β assembly of gas vesicles
Marvin J Bayro1, Eugenio Daviso, Marina Belenky
1Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
Abstract:
Functional amyloids have been identified in a wide range of organisms, taking on a variety of biological roles and being controlled by remarkable mechanisms of directed assembly. Here, we report that amyloid fibrils constitute the ribs of the buoyancy organelles of Anabaena flos-aquae. The walls of these gas-filled vesicles are known to comprise a single protein, GvpA, arranged in a low pitch helix. However, the tertiary and quaternary structures have been elusive. Using solid-state NMR correlation spectroscopy we find detailed evidence for an extended cross-β structure. This amyloid assembly helps to account for the strength and amphiphilic properties of the vesicle wall. Buoyancy organelles thus dramatically extend the scope of known functional amyloids.
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