Figure 2.

Micro-diffraction data from lamprey notochord. (a) Hydrated room-temperature data collection from lamprey notochord. The sample was scanned to find regions containing better ordered domains and, once located, the sample stretched to improve the alignment of the collagen fiber orientation and order in the direction of the stretch. This procedure will also yield poorer diffraction for the population of fibers in the perpendicular direction to the stretch, e.g. for the pattern third from left top [see part (b)]. In so doing it is possible to isolate higher quality diffraction then would be possible otherwise [see part (b)]. (b) Medium-wide angle X-ray diffraction pattern of collagen type II fibrils from lamprey notochord with 15–20 Å resolution (the meridional reflections series). {This figure is reused here with permission (under a creative commons license). This research was originally published in J. Biol. Chem. [Antipova & Orgel (2010). J. Biol. Chem. 285, 7087–7096]; © the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.}