Spider silk colour covaries with thermal properties but not protein structure

Blamires, Sean J.; Cerexhe, Georgia; White, Thomas E.; Herberstein, Marie E.; Kasumovic, Michael M.

doi:10.1098/rsif.2019.0199

Cited by 11 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 73 publications

(117 reference statements)

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“…Furthermore, it is well known that pigment plays an important role in ultraviolet (UV) survival [ 35 ], and UV reflection is an important aspect of prey attraction by spider webs [ 36 ]. In terms of the ecological implication of the spider silk pigment, this prey attraction and web camouflage has been studied in detail [ 26 ], and the color has been reported to affect only the thermal properties of the silk [ 37 ]. However, prolonged exposure to UV radiation damages silk, and silkworm silk naturally use sericin coating to provide protection to UV damage by downregulating oxidative stress [ 38 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Xanthurenic Acid Is the Main Pigment of Trichonephila clavata Gold Dragline Silk

et al. 2021

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Spider silk is a natural fiber with remarkable strength, toughness, and elasticity that is attracting attention as a biomaterial of the future. Golden orb-weaving spiders (Trichonephila clavata) construct large, strong webs using golden threads. To characterize the pigment of golden T. clavata dragline silk, we used liquid chromatography and mass spectrometric analysis. We found that the major pigment in the golden dragline silk of T. clavata was xanthurenic acid. To investigate the possible function of the pigment, we tested the effect of xanthurenic acid on bacterial growth using gram-negative Escherichia coli and gram-positive Bacillus subtilis. We found that xanthurenic acid had a slight antibacterial effect. Furthermore, to investigate the UV tolerance of the T. clavata threads bleached of their golden color, we conducted tensile deformation tests and scanning electron microscope observations. However, in these experiments, no significant effect was observed. We therefore speculate that golden orb-weaving spiders use the pigment for other purposes, such as to attract their prey in the sunlight.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Xanthurenic Acid Is the Main Pigment of Trichonephila clavata Gold Dragline Silk

et al. 2021

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“…Therefore, the core structure seems no influence on variations within species regarding the color of the silk 9 . This can be supported by the fact that different spiders, for instance, some Argiope species have yellow silk fibers while producing silks of much different protein expressions 9 . In addition, silks other than major ampullate silk, for instance, viscous capture silks of Trichonephila spiders can be yellow in color 10 …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…The golden pigment is believed to be used for condition‐dependent courtship signaling 8 . The pigmentation of silk fibers might be associated with thermal properties 9 . Osaki et al 18,19 investigated the difference in the ultraviolet (UV) tolerance between the silk fibers produced by diurnal and nocturnal spiders and found that the dragline silk fibers of diurnal spiders maintained and even improved the mechanical strength under UV irradiation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…8 The pigmentation of silk fibers might be associated with thermal properties. 9 Osaki et al 18,19 investigated the difference in the ultraviolet (UV) tolerance between the silk fibers produced by diurnal and nocturnal spiders and found that the dragline silk fibers of diurnal spiders maintained and even improved the mechanical strength under UV irradiation. In contrast, the dragline silk fibers of the nocturnal spiders exhibited a significant decrease in their tensile strength and strain under UV exposure.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Dragline silk fibers from golden orb‐web spider Trichonephila clavata ensure structural and mechanical robustness against ultraviolet radiation

Ueda,

Yazawa

2024

Polymers for Advanced Techs

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A diurnal spider, Trichonephila clavata (T. clavata), is often called a golden orb‐weaver because its dragline or lifeline silk fibers exhibit a golden color. However, little is known about the biological roles of the golden pigment. Meanwhile, Araneus ventricosus, which is a nocturnal spider, spins colorless silk fibers. Here, we investigated the effect of ultraviolet (UV) irradiation on physical properties of silk fibers obtained from these diurnal and nocturnal spiders. After UV exposure, the dragline silk of the nocturnal spiders appeared abraded and became insoluble due to gelation, whereas the diurnal spider silk remained intact. A dynamic mechanical thermal analysis under different humidity conditions revealed that the storage modulus of the silk from the nocturnal spider dropped markedly at low humidity levels after UV irradiation. This indicated that the molecular weight of this silk degraded under UV exposure and that the number of terminal amino and carboxyl groups increased due to the breakage of the main protein chains. In contrast, the structural and mechanical properties of the diurnal spider silk were maintained regardless of the UV irradiation. Therefore, the golden pigments in the dragline silk of T. clavata most likely played a role in protecting the silk from UV damage.

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“…Example 2: Our work on the optical properties of spider dragline silk has shown that the silk's textured surface and crystalline structures primarily influences its colouration (Blamires et al, 2019). Examining the surface features of the silk more closely might thus enable us to copy the fibers' surface textures to create chromogenic fabrics incorporating micro-scale weave structures and knots to create unique colourations without using dyes or pigments.…”

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confidence: 99%

Spider Silk Biomimetics Programs to Inform the Development of New Wearable Technologies

2020

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Wearable fabrics are predominantly produced from synthetic polymer fibers derived from petrochemicals. These have negative effects on the natural environment as a consequence of the manufacturing process, insurmountable waste production, and persistence of the fibers in ecosystems. With the use of wearables worldwide set to increase exponentially, more environmentally friendly fibers are sought. Natural fibers such as spider silk are produced using proteins in a water solvent, yet they have many superior qualities to synthetic fibers. Moreover, spiders can tune their silk properties as their ecological circumstances demand it. Research focused on the biomimetic potential of spider silks with an eye on the development of smart wearable fibers is accordingly a potentially lucrative area of research. There are nonetheless major challenges associated, including recovering the original mechanical performance within the fibers developed, scaling up production, keeping the production costs of the silk building blocks to a minimum, elucidating, and understanding the different silk genome sequences, and creating precision artificial spinning processes. We outline herein a template for a working framework for a spider silk biomimetics program that can inform designers and biological researchers alike. It suggests that an objective-focused research program utilizing a cross-disciplinary toolbox of top-down and bottom-up techniques is required. We close by providing some speculative examples stemming from current activities in our laboratories.

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Spider silk colour covaries with thermal properties but not protein structure

Cited by 11 publications

References 73 publications

Xanthurenic Acid Is the Main Pigment of Trichonephila clavata Gold Dragline Silk

Xanthurenic Acid Is the Main Pigment of Trichonephila clavata Gold Dragline Silk

Dragline silk fibers from golden orb‐web spider Trichonephila clavata ensure structural and mechanical robustness against ultraviolet radiation

Spider Silk Biomimetics Programs to Inform the Development of New Wearable Technologies

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