Researchers have successfully identified the largest protein ever recorded in biology
MOLECULAR & COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY
9/2/2024
Researchers at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, in a study published in Science in August 2024, have successfully identified the largest protein ever recorded in biology. This protein, named PKZILLA-1, was isolated from the marine alga species Prymnesium parvum and is known to be responsible for fish deaths caused by gill damage during algal bloom events. PKZILLA-1 consists of 45,212 amino acids, weighs 4.7 megadaltons, and contains 140 enzyme domains. For comparison, titin, previously the largest known protein found in human muscle, consists of approximately 30,000 amino acids, while human hemoglobin contains only about 574 amino acids. This discovery broadens our understanding of the size limitations of proteins in the biological world.
