The spinning apparatus of Uloboridae in relation to the structure and construction of capture threads (Arachnida, Araneida)

Peters, Hans

doi:10.1007/bf00312023

Cited by 87 publications

(96 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…However, spider silk fibres have been suggested to be susceptible to electrostatic cling 21 , similar to that observed for several synthetic polymeric materials, although this suggestion has not been supported experimentally on the macroscale 22 . Thus, Kelvin force microscopy (KFM) was used to directly image differences in the surface nanopotential of the fibres.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 86%

Unravelling the biodiversity of nanoscale signatures of spider silk fibres

Silva

Rech

2013

Nat Commun

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Living organisms are masters at designing outstanding self-assembled nanostructures through a hierarchical organization of modular proteins. Protein-based biopolymers improved and selected by the driving forces of molecular evolution are among the most impressive archetypes of nanomaterials. One of these biomacromolecules is the myriad of compound fibroins of spider silks, which combine surprisingly high tensile strength with great elasticity. However, no consensus on the nano-organization of spider silk fibres has been reached. Here we explore the biodiversity of spider silk fibres, focusing on nanoscale characterization with high-resolution atomic force microscopy. Our results reveal an evolution of the nanoroughness, nanostiffness, nanoviscoelastic, nanotribological and nanoelectric organization of microfibres, even when they share similar sizes and shapes. These features are related to unique aspects of their molecular structures. The results show that combined nanoscale analyses of spider silks may enable the screening of appropriate motifs for bioengineering synthetic fibres from recombinant proteins.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 86%

Unravelling the biodiversity of nanoscale signatures of spider silk fibres

Silva

Rech

2013

Nat Commun

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“…Electrostatic charge has also been proposed to play a role in cribellate capture-silk function. 19 Experiments on aging in cribellate capture threads could not account for the reduction in cribellate silk stickiness with age on purely structural criteria, 20 and electrostatic charge has been identified as a potential contributing factor to thread stickiness in cribellate spiders. Although Loxosceles threads are quite unlike cribellate silk, they both have relatively large surface areas, which could play a role in the effectiveness of electrostatic charge.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Unique Ribbon Morphology of the Major Ampullate Silk of Spiders from the Genus Loxosceles (Recluse Spiders)

et al. 2001

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The morphology of silk produced by recluse spiders (Loxosceles arizonica) was investigated by scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. This silk consisted entirely of very long, thin ribbons of width 2•4 pirn and thicknesses of no more than 40 nm. The correspondence in shape and dimension between the silk ribbons and the elongated aperture of the major ampullate spigot indicated that these ribbons were major ampullate silk. Selected area electron diffraction patterns from single ribbons were indexed with an orthorhombic unit cell (a = 9.43(2) A, b = 8.96(3) A, c = 6.96(1) A). This unit cell is in good agreement with that previously reported for synthetic poly(L-alanylglycine). Thus it is likely that the crystalline regions of the major ampullate silk of L. arizonica consist of an alternating glycine•L-alanine motif that has adopted a /3-sheet structure. The amino acid composition achieved with the silk of L. arizonica as well as that of L. laeta confirmed that the major amino acid constituents of this silk were glycine and L-alanine in nearly equal amounts. As it was noticed that the dry ribbons were highly electrostatic, it is suggested that the electrostatic interaction plays an important role in prey capture for Loxoseles.

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“…However, in contrast to araneoids, deinopoids utilize an ancestral type of adhesive capture threads called cribellate silk (Lubin, 1986;Peters, 1984;Peters, 1992). Because outgroups to the orb-weaving spiders (Deinopoidea + Araneoidea) also spin cribellate capture threads, this type of adhesive silk is likely ancestral for all orb-weaving spiders (Coddington, 1986a;Griswold et al, 1999;Opell and Bond, 2000).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unraveling the mechanical properties of composite silk threads spun by cribellate orb-weaving spiders

Blackledge

Hayashi

2006

Journal of Experimental Biology

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spin very diverse web architectures, ranging from complete orbs to evolutionarily reduced triangle webs and cast nets. We found that the pseudoflagelliform core fibers of these webs were stiffer and stronger, but also less extensible, than flagelliform silk. However, cribellate capture threads achieved overall high extensibilities because the surrounding cribellar fibrils contributed substantially to the tensile performance of threads long after the core pseudoflagelliform fibers ruptured. In the case of Deinopis capture threads, up to 90% of the total work performed could be attributed to these fibrils. These findings yield insight into the evolutionary transition from cribellate to viscid capture threads.

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The spinning apparatus of Uloboridae in relation to the structure and construction of capture threads (Arachnida, Araneida)

Cited by 87 publications

References 8 publications

Unravelling the biodiversity of nanoscale signatures of spider silk fibres

Unravelling the biodiversity of nanoscale signatures of spider silk fibres

The Unique Ribbon Morphology of the Major Ampullate Silk of Spiders from the Genus Loxosceles (Recluse Spiders)

Unraveling the mechanical properties of composite silk threads spun by cribellate orb-weaving spiders

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