Ontogenetic shift toward stronger, tougher silk of a web‐building, cave‐dwelling spider

Piorkowski, Dakota; Blamires, Sean J.; Doran, N. E.; Liao, Chen‐Pan; Wu, Chien‐Liang; Tso, I‐Min

doi:10.1111/jzo.12507

Cited by 19 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 56 publications

(101 reference statements)

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“…These have shown that factors such as the speed at which the fibre is spun, exposure of the spider to the wind, or the nutritional state of the spider, can affect MA silk mechanical properties irrespective of spidroin composition [26][27][28]. Moreover, MA silk properties can additionally vary across physical environments, as spider/silk age, diets and behaviours vary, and as a result of the incorporation of additional spidroins [3,[28][29][30][31][32]. Accordingly, our understanding of whether the evolutionary emergence, or differential expression, of specific spidroins is integral to the mechanical performance of MA silk remains somewhat inconclusive.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

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: Introductionmentioning

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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“…They are distinctive for their key ecological role as predators and for the variety of functional adaptations, representing therefore ideal model organisms for exploring a variety of ecological and evolutionary topics (Mammola and Isaia 2017). For example, different spider species have been used for studying silk's mechanical and structural properties (Lepore et al 2012, Piorkowski et al 2017), for exploring a range of morphological, metabolic and behavioural adaptations (Cardoso and Scharff 2009, Doran et al 2001, Doran et al 2017, Hadley et al 1981, Lipovšek et al 2018, Lipovšek et al 2017, Miller 2005, Yancey et al 2018, Chiavazzo et al 2015, Michalik et al 2014,Hesselberg et al 2019), for shedding light on the mechanisms of speciation and the processes underpinning biological radiations (Arnedo et al 2007, Hedin 2015, Růžička et al 2013, Yao et al 2016, Zhang and Li 2013), as well as for testing ecological hypotheses (Cardoso 2012, Mammola et al 2016, Mammola et al 2019, Novak et al 2010, Lunghi 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Continental data on cave-dwelling spider communities across Europe (Arachnida: Araneae)

Mammola¹,

Cardoso²,

Angyal³

et al. 2019

BDJ

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Spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) are widespread in subterranean ecosystems worldwide and represent an important component of subterranean trophic webs. Yet, global-scale diversity patterns of subterranean spiders are still mostly unknown. In the frame of the CAWEB project, a European joint network of cave arachnologists, we collected data on cave-dwelling spider communities across Europe in order to explore their continental diversity patterns. Two main datasets were compiled: one listing all subterranean spider species recorded in numerous subterranean localities across Europe and another with high resolution data about the subterranean habitat in which they were collected. From these two datasets, we further generated a third dataset with individual geo-referenced occurrence records for all these species. Data from 475 geo-referenced subterranean localities (caves, mines and other artificial subterranean sites, interstitial habitats) are herein made available. For each subterranean locality, information about the composition of the spider community is provided, along with local geomorphological and habitat features. Altogether, these communities account for > 300 unique taxonomic entities and 2,091 unique geo-referenced occurrence records, that are made available via the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) (Mammola and Cardoso 2019). This dataset is unique in that it covers both a large geographic extent (from 35° south to 67° north) and contains high-resolution local data on geomorphological and habitat features. Given that this kind of high-resolution data are rarely associated with broad-scale datasets used in macroecology, this dataset has high potential for helping researchers in tackling a range of biogeographical and macroecological questions, not necessarily uniquely related to arachnology or subterranean biology.

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“…We collected adhesive capture silk threads from 10 A. tasmaniensis nests from the ceilings of Mystery Creek and Bradley Chesterman caves, in Southwest National Park, Tasmania, Australia, in October 2017 (see Piorkowski et al, 2017Piorkowski et al, , 2018 for details about the sites). Collection was permitted by the Tasmanian Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water, and the Environment (permit No.…”

Section: Arachnocampa Tasmaniensismentioning

confidence: 99%

Adhesive Droplets of Glowworm Snares (Keroplatidae: Arachnocampa spp.) Are a Complex Mix of Organic Compounds

Wolff

Byern²,

Piorkowski

et al. 2021

Front. Mech. Eng.

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Adhesive snares built from silks are fascinating adaptations that have rarely evolved outside spiders. Glowworms (Arachnocampa spp.) are an iconic part of the fauna of Australia and New Zealand that combine the construction of a sticky snare with a bioluminescent lure. Recently, the structure and biomechanical properties of glowworm silk have been studied in detail, but the chemical composition of its adhesive coating, and how it varies between species of Arachnocampa remained unclear, limiting an understanding of the glue function. Here, we studied the chemical composition of the water-soluble fraction of the adhesive droplets from the snares in cave and epigaeic populations of three species of Arachnocampa from mainland Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand, using a combination of nuclear magnetic resonance and mass spectrometry. We found that glowworm glues comprise a large variety of small organic compounds, with organic acids, amino acids, amino acid derivates, alcohols, urea, and urea derivates being the major fraction, supplemented by small amounts of sugars, fatty acids, and other organic compounds. While there was a general overlap in the compounds detected in the adhesives of all tested Arachnocampa species and populations, the relative amounts differed considerably. We expect that these differences are a product of diet rather than an adaptive response to different environments, but experiments are needed for clarification. The high amount of polar substances and compounds that are hygroscopic at high humidity explains the adhesive properties of the viscous solution and its stability in damp environments. These results contribute to our understanding of the unique prey capture strategy of glowworms. Further, the comparison with convergent spider webs highlights the use of small polar compounds as plasticizers of macro-molecular bioadhesives as a general principle. This may inspire the biomimetic design of novel pressure sensitive adhesives with high performance under high humidity conditions.

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Ontogenetic shift toward stronger, tougher silk of a web‐building, cave‐dwelling spider

Cited by 19 publications

References 56 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

Continental data on cave-dwelling spider communities across Europe (Arachnida: Araneae)

Adhesive Droplets of Glowworm Snares (Keroplatidae: Arachnocampa spp.) Are a Complex Mix of Organic Compounds

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