Spinning Gland Transcriptomics from Two Main Clades of Spiders (Order: Araneae) - Insights on Their Molecular, Anatomical and Behavioral Evolution

Prosdocimi, Francisco; Bittencourt, Daniela; Silva, Felipe Rodrigues da; Kirst, Matias; Motta, Paulo César; Rech, E. L.

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0021634

Cited by 31 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 84 publications

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“…According to Bittencourt et al (2010), this process problably happened before gland or spinneret differentiation, which is a distinct feature of the derived orb-weaver clades. Prosdocimi et al (2011) also suggest that the process of gene duplication and differentiation giving rise to new spidroin families probably triggered the anatomical and behavioral evolution of complex patterns of web usage in the Orbiculariae clade.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 91%

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Review Protein families, natural history and biotechnological aspects of spider silk

Bittencourt¹,

Oliveira²,

Prosdocimi³

et al. 2012

Genet. Mol. Res.

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ABSTRACT. Spiders are exceptionally diverse and abundant organisms in terrestrial ecosystems and their evolutionary success is certainly related to their capacity to produce different types of silks during their life cycle, making a specialized use on each of them. Presenting particularly tandemly arranged amino acid repeats, silk proteins (spidroins) have mechanical properties superior to most synthetic or natural high-performance fibers, which makes them very promising for biotechnology industry, with putative applications in the production of new biomaterials. During the evolution of spider species, complex behaviors of web production and usage have been coupled with anatomical specialization of spinning glands. Spiders retaining ancestral characters, such as the ones belonging to the Mygalomorph group, present simpler sorts of webs used mainly to build burrows and egg sacs, and their silks are produced by globular undifferentiated spinning glands. In contrast, Araneomorphae spiders have a complex spinning apparatus, presenting up to seven morphologically distinct glands, capable to Protein family, history and biotechnology of spider silk produce a more complex set of silk polymers with different degrees of rigidness and elasticity associated with distinct behaviors. Aiming to provide a discussion involving a number of spider silks' biological aspects, in this review we present descriptions of members from each family of spidroin identified from five spider species of the Brazilian biodiversity, and an evolutionary study of them in correlation with the anatomical specialization of glands and spider's spinning behaviors. Due to the biotechnological importance of spider silks for the production of new biomaterials, we also discuss about the new possible technical and biomedical applications of spider silks and the current status of it.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 91%

“…Additionally, silk genes have non-repetitive carboxy (C) and amino (N) termini. C-termini are highly conserved and have been repeatedly used for the reconstruction of silk gene family evolution (Garb and Hayashi, 2005;Garb et al, 2007;Bittencourt et al, 2010;Prosdocimi et al, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Review Protein families, natural history and biotechnological aspects of spider silk

Bittencourt¹,

Oliveira²,

Prosdocimi³

et al. 2012

Genet. Mol. Res.

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“…57 Additionally, the analysis of RNA transcripts within silk glands has indicated a host of potential proteins that may be involved in silk biogenesis. 63,64 In particular, Clarke et al elegantly determined 647 silkgland specific transcripts for Latrodectus hesperus (western black widow) by removing transcripts also found in other spider tissues (venom and cephalothorax). Transcripts can be broadly categorized according to function and ranked according to the number of transcripts associated with that category.…”

Section: A Genes and Proteinsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Emerging major categories include translation and biogenesis, post-translational modifications, signal transduction, protein degradation, inhibition of protein degradation, and oxidation-reduction (among many others). 63,64 Additionally, a large number of transcripts remain unassigned. 63,64 At present, all transcriptome generation has been performed on mixtures of silk glands, giving a broad overview of "silkomics" rather than specific insights into the molecular constituents of individual glands.…”

Section: A Genes and Proteinsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…63,64 Additionally, a large number of transcripts remain unassigned. 63,64 At present, all transcriptome generation has been performed on mixtures of silk glands, giving a broad overview of "silkomics" rather than specific insights into the molecular constituents of individual glands. Further deep-sequencing, transcriptome, and proteomic studies for additional spider families and individual glands will help reveal the true nature and number of MaSp genes, gene transcripts, and proteins involved in natural spider silk production and may provide interesting insights that can be used to improve synthesis.…”

Section: A Genes and Proteinsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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With great structure comes great functionality: Understanding and emulating spider silk

et al. 2014

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The overarching aim of biomimetic approaches to materials synthesis is to mimic simultaneously the structure and function of a natural material, in such a way that these functional properties can be systematically tailored and optimized. In the case of synthetic spider silk fibers, to date functionalities have largely focused on mechanical properties. A rapidly expanding body of literature documents this work, building on the emerging knowledge of structure-function relationships in native spider silks, and the spinning processes used to create them. Here, we describe some of the benchmark achievements reported until now, with a focus on the last five years. Progress in protein synthesis, notably the expression on full-size spidroins, has driven substantial improvements in synthetic spider silk performance. Spinning technology, however, lags behind and is a major limiting factor in biomimetic production. We also discuss applications for synthetic silk that primarily capitalize on its nonmechanical attributes, and that exploit the remarkable range of structures that can be formed from a synthetic silk feedstock.

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Gene flow and Andean uplift shape the diversification of Gasteracantha cancriformis (Araneae: Araneidae) in Northern South America

Salgado-Roa

Pardo‐Díaz

Lasso

et al. 2018

Ecology and Evolution

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The Andean uplift has played a major role in shaping the current Neotropical biodiversity. However, in arthropods other than butterflies, little is known about how this geographic barrier has impacted species historical diversification. Here, we examined the phylogeography of the widespread color polymorphic spider Gasteracantha cancriformis to evaluate the effect of the northern Andean uplift on its divergence and assess whether its diversification occurred in the presence of gene flow. We inferred phylogenetic relationships and divergence times in G. cancriformis using mitochondrial and nuclear data from 105 individuals in northern South America. Genetic diversity, divergence, and population structure were quantified. We also compared multiple demographic scenarios for this species using a model‐based approach (phrapl) to determine divergence with or without gene flow. At last, we evaluated the association between genetic variation and color polymorphism. Both nuclear and mitochondrial data supported two well‐differentiated clades, which correspond to populations occurring on opposite sides of the Eastern cordillera of the Colombian Andes. The final uplift of this cordillera was identified as the most likely force that shaped the diversification of G. cancriformis in northern South America, resulting in a cis‐ and trans‐Andean phylogeographic structure for the species. We also found shared genetic variation between the cis‐ and trans‐Andean clades, which is better explained by a scenario of historical divergence in the face of gene flow. This has been likely facilitated by the presence of low‐elevation passes across the Eastern Colombian cordillera. Our work constitutes the first example in which the Andean uplift coupled with gene flow influenced the evolutionary history of an arachnid lineage.

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Spinning Gland Transcriptomics from Two Main Clades of Spiders (Order: Araneae) - Insights on Their Molecular, Anatomical and Behavioral Evolution

Cited by 31 publications

References 84 publications

Review Protein families, natural history and biotechnological aspects of spider silk

Review Protein families, natural history and biotechnological aspects of spider silk

With great structure comes great functionality: Understanding and emulating spider silk

Gene flow and Andean uplift shape the diversification of Gasteracantha cancriformis (Araneae: Araneidae) in Northern South America

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