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Updated: Oct 16, 2026

In vitro Synthesis of Native, Fibrous Long Spacing and Segmental Long Spacing Collagen
Published on: September 20, 2012
Natural taxonomy of collagen based on amino acid composition
H J MacFie1, N D Light, A J Bailey
1AFRC Institute of Food Research, Bristol Laboratory, Langford, U.K.
Abstract:
Hierarchical cluster analysis and principal components have been used to provide a more detailed separation of the collagens into natural taxonomic groupings than previously obtained. These groups strongly reflect the evolutionary development of collagen. The first component separates land- from sea-based animals, primarily based on the hydroxylation of lysine and proline, indicating that control of hydroxylation, a post-translational event, has exerted a dominant influence during evolutionary adaptation. The power of the technique is illustrated by the ability to partially separate the evolutionarily closely related main homothermic species. Furthermore, the genetically different fibrous collagens, Types I and III, are well separated from basement membrane Type IV collagen and the filamentous collagens. The technique could, therefore, in addition to providing a taxonomic grouping, classify any new collagen and provide clues to its evolutionary development.
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