INTRODUCTION

The objective of this chapter is to present an analysis of structural design in elastic proteins, to elucidate the functional role that these materials play in the lives of real organisms, and to discover whether molecular mechanisms in these materials could be exploited through biotechnology. One striking feature of the elastic proteins we will consider is that they exhibit an exceptionally broad range of material properties and functional roles. As a starting point, therefore, it may prove useful to explore some general features of mechanical design in elastic proteins to set the stage for the detailed analysis of the individual proteins in the chapters that follow.

It is frequently assumed that mechanical and biochemical devices in organisms represent perfect or near perfect solutions to the problems that organisms encounter in their lives. Although it is not clear if this optimistic view is strictly true for elastic proteins, or for any other systems in biology, it is likely that elastic proteins are relatively good designs because they have been tested and modified through eons of evolutionary history. For the purpose of our discussion, we will define ‘design’ as the relationship between the structure and the function of biological devices, as they exist in living organisms. There are two paths towards an understanding the design of elastic proteins. Most obvious, the direct analysis of microscopic and molecular structure will reveal details of molecular mechanisms in elastic proteins and will document structure–property relationships for these materials.