Keratin homogeneity in the tail feathers of Pavo cristatus and Pavo cristatus mut. alba

Author(s)

Silvia Pabisch, Stephan Puchegger, Helmut O K Kirchner, Ingrid M. Weiss, Herwig Peterlik

Abstract

The keratin structure in the cortex of peacocks' feathers is studied by X-ray diffraction along the feather, from the calamus to the tip. It changes considerably over the first 5 cm close to the calamus and remains constant for about 1 m along the length of the feather. Close to the tip, the structure loses its high degree of order. We attribute the X-ray patterns to a shrinkage of a cylindrical arrangement of beta-sheets, which is not fully formed initially. In the final structure, the crystalline beta-cores are fixed by the rest of the keratin molecule. The hydrophobic residues of the beta-core are locked into a zip-like arrangement. Structurally there is no difference between the blue and the white bird.

Organisation(s)

Dynamics of Condensed Systems

External organisation(s)

Leibniz-Institut für Neue Materialien

Journal

Journal of Structural Biology

Volume

172

Pages

270-275

No. of pages

6

ISSN

1047-8477

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsb.2010.07.003

Publication date

2010

Peer reviewed

Yes

Austrian Fields of Science 2012

210006 Nanotechnology, 103018 Materials physics

Portal url

https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/d69f9445-23c3-4837-a5a7-5ab62fade787