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In JoVE (2)
- Microdissection of Black Widow Spider Silk-producing Glands
- Synthetic Spider Silk Production on a Laboratory Scale
Other Publications (1)
Articles by Felicia Jeffery in JoVE
JoVE General
Microdissection of Black Widow Spider Silk-producing Glands
Department of Biological Sciences, University of the Pacific
Here we describe an efficient strategy to remove the silk-producing glands from the abdomen of female black widow spiders. This procedure allows the rapid isolation of the seven distinct silk-producing glands in a highly purified fashion, an important process for investigators studying spider silk production and fiber assembly.
JoVE Bioengineering
Synthetic Spider Silk Production on a Laboratory Scale
Department of Biological Sciences, University of the Pacific
Despite the outstanding mechanical and biochemical properties of spider silks, this material cannot be harvested in large quantities by conventional means. Here we describe an efficient strategy to spin artificial spider silk fibers, which is an important process for investigators studying spider silk production and their use as next-generation biomaterials.
Other articles by Felicia Jeffery on PubMed
Synthetic Spider Silk Fibers Spun from Pyriform Spidroin 2, a Glue Silk Protein Discovered in Orb-weaving Spider Attachment Discs
Spider attachment disc silk fibers are spun into a viscous liquid that rapidly solidifies, gluing dragline silk fibers to substrates for locomotion or web construction. Here we report the identification and artificial spinning of a novel attachment disc glue silk fibroin, Pyriform Spidroin 2 (PySp2), from the golden orb weaver Nephila clavipes . MS studies support PySp2 is a constituent of the pyriform gland that is spun into attachment discs. Analysis of the PySp2 protein architecture reveals sequence divergence relative to the other silk family members, including the cob weaver glue silk fibroin PySp1. PySp2 contains internal block repeats that consist of two subrepeat units: one dominated by Ser, Gln, and Ala and the other Pro-rich. Artificial spinning of recombinant PySp2 truncations shows that the Ser-Gln-Ala-rich subrepeat is sufficient for the assembly of polymeric subunits and subsequent fiber formation. These studies support that both orb- and cob-weaving spiders have evolved highly polar block-repeat sequences with the ability to self-assemble into fibers, suggesting a strategy to allow fiber fabrication in the liquid environment of the attachment discs.
