Diverse Formulas for Spider Dragline Fibers Demonstrated by Molecular and Mechanical Characterization of Spitting Spider Silk

Correa-Garhwal, Sandra M.; Garb, Jessica E.

doi:10.1021/bm501409n

Cited by 7 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 56 publications

(184 reference statements)

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“…Outside of Entelegynae, dragline silk sequences from the basal clades that include Hypochilidae and Haplogynae [ 33 ] largely did not conform to the MaSp1/MaSp2 consensus motif criteria identified in this study. Instead, the repetitive modules from the basal groups typically featured long and complex arrays of residues, consistent with a non-homologous origin of MaSps between the basal and entelegyne taxa, as proposed [ 4 , 12 , 47 , 48 ]. However, one sequence from H .…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 72%

Analysis of repetitive amino acid motifs reveals the essential features of spider dragline silk proteins

2017

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The extraordinary mechanical properties of spider dragline silk are dependent on the highly repetitive sequences of the component proteins, major ampullate spidroin 1 and 2 (MaSp2 and MaSp2). MaSp sequences are dominated by repetitive modules composed of short amino acid motifs; however, the patterns of motif conservation through evolution and their relevance to silk characteristics are not well understood. We performed a systematic analysis of MaSp sequences encompassing infraorder Araneomorphae based on the conservation of explicitly defined motifs, with the aim of elucidating the essential elements of MaSp1 and MaSp2. The results show that the GGY motif is nearly ubiquitous in the two types of MaSp, while MaSp2 is invariably associated with GP and di-glutamine (QQ) motifs. Further analysis revealed an extended MaSp2 consensus sequence in family Araneidae, with implications for the classification of the archetypal spidroins ADF3 and ADF4. Additionally, the analysis of RNA-seq data showed the expression of a set of distinct MaSp-like variants in genus Tetragnatha. Finally, an apparent association was uncovered between web architecture and the abundance of GP, QQ, and GGY motifs in MaSp2, which suggests a co-expansion of these motifs in response to the evolution of spiders' prey capture strategy.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 72%

Analysis of repetitive amino acid motifs reveals the essential features of spider dragline silk proteins

2017

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“…Most of the spidroin contigs identified in this study (except for the tubuliform spidroin) contain novel combinations of amino acid sequence motifs that have not been observed before in these spidroin types ( S2 Fig ). The grouping of ampullate spidroins within a diverse ampullate clade has also been observed in other analyses of spidroin C-termini [ 44 , 55 ]. Relationships among ampullate spidroins within and across species are complicated, suggesting turnover (birth, death) and/or sequence conversion [ 31 , 32 , 56 – 58 ].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 69%

Silk genes and silk gene expression in the spider Tengella perfuga (Zoropsidae), including a potential cribellar spidroin (CrSp)

et al. 2018

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Most spiders spin multiple types of silk, including silks for reproduction, prey capture, and draglines. Spiders are a megadiverse group and the majority of spider silks remain uncharacterized. For example, nothing is known about the silk molecules of Tengella perfuga, a spider that spins sheet webs lined with cribellar silk. Cribellar silk is a type of adhesive capture thread composed of numerous fibrils that originate from a specialized plate-like spinning organ called the cribellum. The predominant components of spider silks are spidroins, members of a protein family synthesized in silk glands. Here, we use silk gland RNA-Seq and cDNA libraries to infer T. perfuga silks at the protein level. We show that T. perfuga spiders express 13 silk transcripts representing at least five categories of spider silk proteins (spidroins). One category is a candidate for cribellar silk and is thus named cribellar spidroin (CrSp). Studies of ontogenetic changes in web construction and spigot morphology in T. perfuga have documented that after sexual maturation, T. perfuga females continue to make capture webs but males halt web maintenance and cease spinning cribellar silk. Consistent with these observations, our candidate CrSp was expressed only in females. The other four spidroin categories correspond to paralogs of aciniform, ampullate, pyriform, and tubuliform spidroins. These spidroins are associated with egg sac and web construction. Except for the tubuliform spidroin, the spidroins from T. perfuga contain novel combinations of amino acid sequence motifs that have not been observed before in these spidroin types. Characterization of T. perfuga silk genes, particularly CrSp, expand the diversity of the spidroin family and inspire new structure/function hypotheses.

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“…Pioneering work by Gatesy et al (14) identified and analyzed spidroin sequences from several spider lineages, including basal spider groups, thus enabling a glimpse into the complex evolution of spidroin sequences. Subsequently, there have been a large number of studies that have explored the subject of spidroin sequence diversity and evolution, including focused studies on various spidroin paralogs (15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29), and those from more phylogenetic perspective (7,(30)(31)(32)(33)(34), predominantly based on the conserved terminal sequences. On the other hand, the mechanical properties of silk fibers are governed largely through the repetitive regions that dominate the silk protein sequence, and the study on the diversity of spidroin repetitive regions, particularly in the more evolutionarily divergent taxa, has been limited to date.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

1000 spider silkomes: Linking sequences to silk physical properties

et al. 2022

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Spider silks are among the toughest known materials and thus provide models for renewable, biodegradable, and sustainable biopolymers. However, the entirety of their diversity still remains elusive, and silks that exceed the performance limits of industrial fibers are constantly being found. We obtained transcriptome assemblies from 1098 species of spiders to comprehensively catalog silk gene sequences and measured the mechanical, thermal, structural, and hydration properties of the dragline silks of 446 species. The combination of these silk protein genotype-phenotype data revealed essential contributions of multicomponent structures with major ampullate spidroin 1 to 3 paralogs in high-performance dragline silks and numerous amino acid motifs contributing to each of the measured properties. We hope that our global sampling, comprehensive testing, integrated analysis, and open data will provide a solid starting point for future biomaterial designs.

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Diverse Formulas for Spider Dragline Fibers Demonstrated by Molecular and Mechanical Characterization of Spitting Spider Silk

Cited by 7 publications

References 56 publications

Analysis of repetitive amino acid motifs reveals the essential features of spider dragline silk proteins

Analysis of repetitive amino acid motifs reveals the essential features of spider dragline silk proteins

Silk genes and silk gene expression in the spider Tengella perfuga (Zoropsidae), including a potential cribellar spidroin (CrSp)

1000 spider silkomes: Linking sequences to silk physical properties

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