The beetle's structural protein CPCFC making elytra tough and rigid

文献类型： 外文期刊

第一作者： Bao, Han

作者： Bao, Han;Liu, Yuantao;Yang, Qing;Duan, Yanwei;Chen, Lei;Yang, Qing;Yang, Qing

作者机构：

关键词： biomaterial; chitin hydrogel; CPCFC; insect cuticle

期刊名称：INSECT SCIENCE （ 影响因子：3.0； 五年影响因子：3.5 ）

ISSN： 1672-9609

年卷期： 2025 年 32 卷 3 期

页码：

收录情况： SCI

摘要： The insect cuticle, which serves as both a protective barrier and an efficient lever system for locomotion, is an extracellular matrix primarily composed of chitin and protein. The cuticle protein CPCFC characterized by a "CFC" motif containing 2 Cys split by the insertion of 5 residues is distributed across most insect species and specifically localized in the hard part of the cuticle. However, their physiological function is not fully understood. Here, we report 2 CPCFC proteins, TcCPCFC1 and TcCPCFC2, derived from the Coleopteran insect Tribolium castaneum. We revealed that TcCPCFC1 and TcCPCFC2 were predominantly expressed during the larval and adult stages of T. castaneum, respectively. The transcription downregulation of TcCPCFC1 significantly decreased the modulus and toughness of the elytral cuticle. We found that TcCPCFC proteins have high binding affinity to chitin. We cloned and produced recombinant TcCPCFC proteins and demonstrated that the addition of TcCPCFC proteins to chitin hydrogel greatly enhanced the hydrogel's modulus and toughness by forming denser chitin fibrous networks. Our findings reveal the functional role of CPCFC proteins in enhancing mechanical properties of insect cuticle, and we validate this process in vitro, and offer a protein candidate for fabrication of advanced chitin-based materials. The cuticular proteins of the CPCFC protein family interact with chitin fibers, modifying their structure within the chitin network. These interactions enhance the energy absorption capacity of the cuticle structure and improve its toughness. image

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