Fibroins are proteins that constitute silk fibers. Fibroins are large complex proteins and the specific structural details of those making up different types of silk are different, but all fibroins have some common characteristics. Interesting general information on spider silk and a model of one type of a spider silk molecule is at spider silk. This model shows two repeating domains that all fibroins contain. One domain is characterized as being amorphous, also called flexible, disordered segments, and the other one, symbolized by the boxes, has a highly ordered, repetitive, crystal-like structure. The objective of this exercise is to explicate this ordered domain of the protein.

Chapter 1

Describes the structure of the repetitive peptide segment that is contained in the ordered domain of the fibroin.

Chapter 2

Shows the formation of β-sheet and illustrates how the sheets are stacked to form the ordered domain of the fibroin.

Index of other Jmol exercises