Dissecting Cephalopod Camouflage: Extraction and Analysis of Optical Protein Nanostructures in Squid Loligo pealeii

非技术性：该奖项由材料研究部的生物材料计划和化学、生物工程、环境和运输系统部门的生物技术和生化工程计划颁发，旨在探索头足类动物自适应着色背后的基本机制。头足类是包括鱿鱼、章鱼和墨鱼在内的海洋生物。出于感知、交流、防御和繁殖的目的，它们的肤色可以经历快速和适应性的变化，使它们能够融入或脱颖而出于当地环境。我们的目标是确定这些动物是如何具有这种交互功能的，并确定哪些蛋白质和色素有助于这种功能。有了这些基础知识，PI的目标是设计受头足类动物启发的新材料，这些材料可能会经历类似的颜色变化反应。综合外展部分是该奖项的一个主要特点，在该奖项中，个人投资机构将建立教育材料和经验，为学生在材料科学和工程领域的STEM职业做准备。为此，PIS将开发一个为期一周的研讨会，培训多达10名高中教师(包括非荣誉教师、荣誉教师和AP教师)，教他们如何设计、制造和测试受生物学系统启发的光学设备和材料。技术：头足类动物可以在神经控制的肌肉驱动的色素器官(称为色团)的支持下主动调整它们的皮肤颜色。已知发色团通过细胞弹性囊内着色颗粒的主动膨胀和收缩而导致头足类动物着色的变化；然而，颗粒的组成及其在调节整体着色中的作用在很大程度上仍不清楚。这项建议的主要目标是确定在适应性伪装过程中，位于色团器官内的这些颗粒的纳米结构和组成如何影响大面积着色。PI将使用定制的提取方案来分离、纯化和鉴定存在于色团中的蛋白质和小分子，研究它们的相互作用，并开发一种合成策略来概括它们吸收和散射所有波长可见光的能力。外展部分和教师研讨会将被设计为利用这项研究的知识、工具和联系到教育材料和经验中，为高中生进入STEM职业和大学学位做准备，在那里他们可以探索如何利用生物学来启发工程材料。

Non-technical: This award by the Biomaterials Program in the Division of Materials Research and the Biotechnology and Biochemical Engineering Program in the Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems is to explore the fundamental mechanisms behind adaptive coloration in cephalopods. Cephalopods are marine organisms that include squid, octopus, and cuttlefish. They can undergo rapid and adaptive changes in their skin color for sensing, communication, defense, and reproduction purposes enabling them to blend in or stand out in their local environment. The goal is to determine how these animals are capable of such interactive features and identify which proteins and pigments aid in this function. With this fundamental knowledge, PIs aim to design new materials inspired by cephalopods that may undergo similar color-changing responses. An integrative outreach component is a key feature of this award, where the PIs will build educational materials and experiences to prepare students for STEM careers in materials science and engineering. To this end, the PIs will develop a week-long workshop to train up to 10 high school teachers (mix of non-honors, honors, and AP teachers) on how to design, build, and test optical devices and materials inspired by systems in biology.Technical: Cephalopods can actively tune their dermal coloration with the support of neurally-controlled, muscle-actuated pigment organs known as chromatophores. It is known that chromatophores contribute to changes in cephalopod coloration through the active expansion and retraction of pigmented granules confined within a cytoelastic sac; however, the composition of the granules and their role in modulating bulk coloration remain largely unknown. The primary objective of this proposal is to identify how the nanostructure and composition of these granules localized within the chromatophore organs impact broad area coloration during adaptive camouflage. The PIs will use a customized extraction protocol to isolate, purify, and identify the proteins and small molecules present in the chromatophores, investigate their interactions and develop a synthetic strategy to recapitulate their ability to absorb and scatter all wavelengths of visible light. Outreach components and teacher workshops will be designed to leverage the knowledge, tools, and connections from this research into educational materials and experiences to prepare high school students for STEM careers and college degrees where they can explore how biology is used to inspire engineered materials.