Compounds and methods for the production of suckerin and uses thereof

1. A composition comprising:

an isolated recombinant polypeptide comprising or consisting of:

(a) the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 2;

(b) a variant of the amino acid sequence of (a) that shares at least 80% sequence identity with the amino acid sequence of (a) over its entire length; or

(c) a fragment of the amino acid sequence of (a), the fragment having a length of at least 50 amino acids;

wherein the recombinant polypeptide is at least partially in beta sheet conformation, and

one or more materials selected from the group consisting of a foam, a fibre, a filament, a film, a nano fibre, a nano sphere, a nano particle, a liquid crystal mesogen, a tissue scaffold, a colloid, a copolymer, a block copolymer, and combinations thereof,

wherein the composition comprises, relative to the amount of the isolated recombinant polypeptide, less than 5% contaminants that naturally occur together with the isolated recombinant polypeptide.

2. The composition of claim 1 , wherein the recombinant polypeptide is soluble in water and/or under mildly acidic conditions.

3. The composition of claim 1 , wherein the recombinant polypeptide comprises at least one domain 1 comprising or consisting of an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of HH, TT, SS, AV, TTH, THH, IAAL (SEQ ID NO: 111), SY, VTHHAP (SEQ ID NO: 112), VVLLAAF (SEQ ID NO: 113), HTTHHA (SEQ ID NO: 114), AATVSHTTHHA (SEQ ID NO: 115), FPY, THT, HVT, HHP, VSH and TVS.

4. The composition of claim 1 , wherein the recombinant polypeptide comprises at least one glycine rich domain 2 comprising

(1) an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of GGLYG (SEQ ID NO: 116), GGYG (SEQ ID NO: 117), GLYGG (SEQ ID NO: 118), YGIG (SEQ ID NO: 119), GIG and GYG;

(2) at least one sub-domain 3 comprising the amino acid sequence GGX1X2X3Y (SEQ ID NO: 1)

wherein X 1 is nothing, L, F or V;

wherein X 2 is nothing, G, or F; and

wherein X 3 is nothing, G or A;

(3) at least one sub-domain 4 comprising the amino acid sequence GGY; or

(4) a combination of (2) and (3).

5. The composition of claim 4 , wherein X 1 of sub-domain 3 is L.

6. The composition of claim 4 , wherein sub-domain 3 has the amino acid sequence GGLY (SEQ ID NO: 449).

7. The composition of claim 1 , wherein the recombinant polypeptide comprises at least one amino acid consensus sequence selected from the sequences set forth in SEQ ID NOS:105, 106, 107, 108, 109 and 110.

8. The composition of claim 4 , wherein domain 2 comprises from N to C terminus, (sub-Domain 3-sub-domain 4) n ; wherein n is independently 1 to 4.

9. The composition of claim 4 wherein domain 2 comprises from N to C terminus, (sub-Domain 3-sub-Domain 4-sub-Domain 3) n ; wherein n is independently 1 to 3 .

10. The composition of claim 1 , wherein a peptide unit comprises from N- to C-terminus:

Proline-Domain 1-Domain 2;

Proline-Domain 1-Proline-Domain 2; or

Domain 1-Proline-Domain 2,

wherein domain 1 comprises or consists of an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of HH, TT, SS, AV, TTH, THH, IAAL (SEQ ID NO: 111), SY, VTHHAP (SEQ ID NO: 112), VVLLAAF (SEQ ID NO: 113), HTTHHA (SEQ ID NO: 114), AATVSHTTHHA (SEQ ID NO: 115), FPY, THT, HVT, HHP, VSH and TVS, and

wherein domain 2 comprises

(1) an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of GGLYG (SEQ ID NO: 116), GGYG (SEQ ID NO: 117), GLYGG (SEQ ID NO: 118), YGIG (SEQ ID NO: 119), GIG and GYG;

(2) at least one sub-domain 3 comprising the amino acid sequence GGX1X2X3Y (SEQ ID NO: 1)

wherein X 1 is nothing, L, F or V;

wherein X 2 is nothing, G, or F; and

wherein X 3 is nothing, G or A;

(3) at least one sub-domain 4 comprising the amino acid sequence GGY; or

(4) a combination of any two or more of (1), (2) and (3);

is repeated from 2 to 13 times.

11. An isolated nucleic acid molecule comprising a nucleic acid sequence encoding the recombinant polypeptide of claim 1 .

12. The nucleic acid molecule of claim 11 , wherein the nucleic acid sequence is comprised in an expression construct or a vector.

13. An isolated host cell comprising an expression construct that comprises a nucleic acid sequence encoding the recombinant polypeptide of claim 1 , wherein the cell is capable of expressing the recombinant polypeptide.

14. The composition of claim 1 , wherein the one or more materials is selected from the group consisting of: a nano sphere, a nano particle, a liquid crystal mesogen, a tissue scaffold, a colloid, a copolymer, and a block copolymer.

15. The composition of claim 1 , further comprising plastic, resin or a mixture thereof.

16. The composition of claim 1 , wherein the composition has an elastic modulus ranges from 5 MPa to 9 GPa.

17. The composition of claim 1 , further comprising adhesive properties.

18. A method of making the composition comprising the recombinant polypeptide and material of claim 1 , comprising the steps of:

crushing the recombinant polypeptide;

heating the crushed recombinant polypeptide into a liquid comprising the material; and

forming the composition comprising the recombinant polypeptide and material from the liquid.

19. The method of claim 18 , wherein the crushed recombinant polypeptide is mixed with plastic, resin or a mixture of both plastic and resin prior to heating the crushed recombinant polypeptide at temperatures up to 280° C.

20. The method of claim 18 , wherein forming the composition comprising the recombinant polypeptide and material comprises spinning the liquid into a fibre.

21. The method of claim 18 , wherein forming the composition comprising the recombinant polypeptide and material comprises placing the liquid into a mold; and removing the mold after the liquid solidifies.

22. A tissue scaffold comprising the composition of claim 1 .

23. The tissue scaffold of claim 22 , wherein the recombinant polypeptide is formed into an adhesion substrate for cell or tissue growth.

24. The composition of claim 1 , further comprising a multimer of the recombinant polypeptides.