Multicomponent nature underlies the extraordinary mechanical properties of spider dragline silk

Nobuaki Kono, Hiroyuki Nakamura, Masaru Mori, Yuki Yoshida, Rintaro Ohtoshi, Ali D. Malay, Daniel A. Pedrazzoli Moran, Masaru Tomita, Keiji Numata, Kazuharu Arakawa

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

39 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Dragline silk of golden orb-weaver spiders (Nephilinae) is noted for its unsurpassed toughness, combining extraordinary extensibility and tensile strength, suggesting industrial application as a sustainable biopolymer material. To pinpoint the molecular composition of dragline silk and the roles of its constituents in achieving its mechanical properties, we report a multiomics approach, combining highquality genome sequencing and assembly, silk gland transcriptomics, and dragline silk proteomics of four Nephilinae spiders.We observed the consistent presence of the MaSp3B spidroin unique to this subfamily as well as several nonspidroin SpiCE proteins. Artificial synthesis and the combination of these components in vitro showed that the multicomponent nature of dragline silk, including MaSp3B and SpiCE, along with MaSp1 and MaSp2, is essential to realize the mechanical properties of spider dragline silk.

Original languageEnglish
Article numbere2107065118
JournalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Volume118
Issue number31
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2021 Aug 3

Keywords

  • Genome
  • Mechanical property
  • Orb-weaving spider
  • Spider silk

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General

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