The animal kingdom continues to surprise with its fascinating discoveries, including the potential of velvet worm slime to revolutionize the design of high-performance polymers. Researchers from McGill University and Nanyang Technological University have uncovered a previously unknown protein-based feature in velvet worm slime that could lead to the development of more sustainable polymers.

Velvet worms, small creatures resembling caterpillars, produce a unique slime from specialized papillae on their heads. This slime transforms from a sticky gel into strong, glassy fibers when squirted out, and can revert back to its biomolecular precursors when dissolved in water. The instructions for fiber self-assembly are encoded within these precursors, making the process reversible.

In a recent study, researchers used protein sequencing and AI-guided algorithms to identify a high-molecular-weight protein in the slime known as a leucine-rich repeat. This protein, similar in structure to a Toll-like receptor in biology, plays a structural role in bringing together various slime proteins to form fibers.

The discovery of this protein in different species of velvet worms that diverged millions of years ago suggests an ancient biological function. The team hypothesizes that the reversible fiber formation is based on interactions between several slime proteins, a principle observed in various organisms.

Further research involves purifying or expressing these proteins to test their interactions in vitro. If successful, this could inspire the development of high-performance, recyclable, and non-toxic polymeric materials based on natural principles.

Source: Physics World