Evolution of Spiders and Silk Spinning: Mini Review of the Morphology, Evolution, and Development of Spiders’ Spinnerets

Mariano‐Martins, Pedro; Lo-Man-Hung, Nancy F.; Torres, Tatiana Teixeira

doi:10.3389/fevo.2020.00109

Cited by 12 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…By performing a multi-species comparative meta-analysis, we were able to decipher among real and apparent influences on MA silk properties. Such insights have potential to improve our capacity to test hypotheses about spider silk and web evolutionary radiations [50] and the effects of other covarying factors, such as changes in the spinning apparatus across spider phylogenies [51]. They also provide valuable information about the silk materiome, which better informs the development of synthetic proteins and other, e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Meta-analysis reveals materiomic relationships in major ampullate silk across the spider phylogeny

Craig

Piorkowski

Nakagawa

et al. 2020

J. R. Soc. Interface.

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Spider major ampullate (MA) silk, with its combination of strength and extensibility, outperforms any synthetic equivalents. There is thus much interest in understanding its underlying materiome. While the expression of the different silk proteins (spidroins) appears an integral component of silk performance, our understanding of the nature of the relationship between the spidroins, their constituent amino acids and MA silk mechanics is ambiguous. To provide clarity on these relationships across spider species, we performed a meta-analysis using phylogenetic comparative methods. These showed that glycine and proline, both of which are indicators of differential spidroin expression, had effects on MA silk mechanics across the phylogeny. We also found serine to correlate with silk mechanics, probably via its presence within the carboxyl and amino-terminal domains of the spidroins. From our analyses, we concluded that the spidroin expression shifts across the phylogeny from predominantly MaSp1 in the MA silks of ancestral spiders to predominantly MaSp2 in the more derived spiders' silks. This trend was accompanied by an enhanced ultimate strain and decreased Young's modulus in the silks. Our meta-analysis enabled us to decipher between real and apparent influences on MA silk properties, providing significant insights into spider silk and web coevolution and enhancing our capacity to create spider silk-like materials.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Meta-analysis reveals materiomic relationships in major ampullate silk across the spider phylogeny

Craig

Piorkowski

Nakagawa

et al. 2020

J. R. Soc. Interface.

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“…Whether the spinnerets originated from joint-bearing appendages has been discussed extensively (though without any focus on the presumed loss of the joints; e.g. Jaworowski 1896 ; Yoshikura 1955 ; Marples 1967 ; Shultz 1987 ; Damen et al 2002 ; Hilbrant 2008 ; Selden et al 2008 ; Pechmann and Prpic 2009 ; Clarke et al 2015 ; Sharma 2017 ; recently reviewed in Mariano-Martins et al 2020 ). Also if an evolutionary derivation from such a joint-bearing appendage is assumed, a still open question remains which parts of the appendage the spinnerets correspond to (see Fig.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Morphological changes during the post-embryonic ontogeny of mesothelan spiders and aspects of character evolution in early spiders

Huber

Haug

2021

Dev Genes Evol

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Most morphological studies focus on adult specimens, or if developmental studies are pursued, especially in Euarthropoda, they focus on embryonic development. Araneae (spiders) is one of these groups, in consequence with understudied post-embryonic development. Here we present aspects of the post-embryonic stages of different species of Mesothelae, sister group to the remaining spiders (when fossil species are not taken into account). We used different imaging methods and measured different external morphological structures to detect possible ontogenetic changes. One structure exhibiting post-embryonic changes is the chelicera. Here the significant change occurs between the last immature stage and the adult, yet only in males. For the spinnerets, we could not detect ontogenetic changes, but instead a high variability in length and width, probably due to their lack of pivot joints between the elements. The strongest morphological change during ontogeny occurred on the sternum, which begins with a rather roundish shape in the first stage and changes to being fairly elongate in shape in the last immature stages and the adult. This specific sternum shape only occurs in adults of mesothelan spiders, while opisthothelan spiders have a broader sternum also in the adult. We discuss our results in an evolutionary context, also taking into account recent finds of fossil spiders.

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“…Similar mysteries exist in the abdomen of insects and spiders, where different types of ventral appendage have emerged after abdominal legs had been repressed for millions of years. Here, we have to address the origin of spider spinnerets, [ 34 ] abdominal appendages of lepidopterans, sawflies, or scorpion fly larvae, [ 35 ] and sepsid fly male abdominal appendages. [ 36 ] All these traits still need to be approached experimentally using novel powerful genetic technologies.…”

Section: Future Directions: Embryonic Marker Investigations and Use Omentioning

confidence: 99%

Distinguishing serial homologs from novel traits: Experimental limitations and ideas for improvements

Monteiro

2020

BioEssays

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One of the central but yet unresolved problems in evolutionary biology concerns the origin of novel complex traits. One hypothesis is that complex traits derive from pre-existing gene regulatory networks (GRNs) reused and modified to specify a novel trait somewhere else in the body. This simple explanation encounters problems when the novel trait that emerges in a body is in a region that is known to harbor a latent or repressed trait that has been silent for millions of years. Is the novel trait merely a re-emerged de-repressed trait or a truly novel trait that emerged via a novel deployment of an old GRN? A couple of new studies sided on opposite sides of this question when investigating the origin of horns in dung beetles and helmets in treehoppers that develop in the first thoracic segment (T1) of their bodies, a segment known to harbor a pair of repressed/modified wings in close relatives. Here, I point to some key limitations of the experimental approaches used and highlight additional experiments that could be done in future to resolve the developmental origin of these and other traits.

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Evolution of Spiders and Silk Spinning: Mini Review of the Morphology, Evolution, and Development of Spiders’ Spinnerets

Cited by 12 publications

References 30 publications

Meta-analysis reveals materiomic relationships in major ampullate silk across the spider phylogeny

Meta-analysis reveals materiomic relationships in major ampullate silk across the spider phylogeny

Morphological changes during the post-embryonic ontogeny of mesothelan spiders and aspects of character evolution in early spiders

Distinguishing serial homologs from novel traits: Experimental limitations and ideas for improvements

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