Self-assembly of Deinococcus radiodurans S-layer proteins

Proteins capable of self-assembly are crucial to many bio-architectures and have potential applications in nanotechnology. An example is the group of proteins used to construct crystalline surface layers (S-layers) in nearly all archaebacteria and many eubacteria. One extensively studied S-layer is the hexagonally packed intermediate layer, which represents the major cell envelope protein of the radiation-resistant bacterium Deinococcus radiodurans. Here, we demonstrate the in vitro self-assembly capacity of S-layer proteins isolated from Deinococcus radiodurans IR. Our results showed that the self-assemblies were micron-scale sheet structures when observed under light microscope and electron microscopes, including SEM, TEM, and Field Emission SEM.