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Nawaz T, Gu L, Gibbons J, Hu Z, Zhou R. Bridging Nature and Engineering: Protein-Derived Materials for Bio-Inspired Applications. Biomimetics (Basel) 2024; 9:373. [PMID: 38921253 PMCID: PMC11201842 DOI: 10.3390/biomimetics9060373] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2024] [Revised: 06/11/2024] [Accepted: 06/13/2024] [Indexed: 06/27/2024] Open
Abstract
The sophisticated, elegant protein-polymers designed by nature can serve as inspiration to redesign and biomanufacture protein-based materials using synthetic biology. Historically, petro-based polymeric materials have dominated industrial activities, consequently transforming our way of living. While this benefits humans, the fabrication and disposal of these materials causes environmental sustainability challenges. Fortunately, protein-based biopolymers can compete with and potentially surpass the performance of petro-based polymers because they can be biologically produced and degraded in an environmentally friendly fashion. This paper reviews four groups of protein-based polymers, including fibrous proteins (collagen, silk fibroin, fibrillin, and keratin), elastomeric proteins (elastin, resilin, and wheat glutenin), adhesive/matrix proteins (spongin and conchiolin), and cyanophycin. We discuss the connection between protein sequence, structure, function, and biomimetic applications. Protein engineering techniques, such as directed evolution and rational design, can be used to improve the functionality of natural protein-based materials. For example, the inclusion of specific protein domains, particularly those observed in structural proteins, such as silk and collagen, enables the creation of novel biomimetic materials with exceptional mechanical properties and adaptability. This review also discusses recent advancements in the production and application of new protein-based materials through the approach of synthetic biology combined biomimetics, providing insight for future research and development of cutting-edge bio-inspired products. Protein-based polymers that utilize nature's designs as a base, then modified by advancements at the intersection of biology and engineering, may provide mankind with more sustainable products.
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Affiliation(s)
- Taufiq Nawaz
- Department of Biology and Microbiology, South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD 57007, USA;
| | - Liping Gu
- Department of Biology and Microbiology, South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD 57007, USA;
| | | | - Zhong Hu
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD 57007, USA;
| | - Ruanbao Zhou
- Department of Biology and Microbiology, South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD 57007, USA;
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2
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Lin B, Xie J, Gao B, He B. Efficient Biosynthetic Fabrication of Spidroins with High Spinning Performance. ADVANCED SCIENCE (WEINHEIM, BADEN-WURTTEMBERG, GERMANY) 2024; 11:e2400128. [PMID: 38520721 PMCID: PMC11165546 DOI: 10.1002/advs.202400128] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2024] [Revised: 03/16/2024] [Indexed: 03/25/2024]
Abstract
The unique 3D structure of spider silk protein (spidroin) determines the excellent mechanical properties of spidroin fiber, but the difficulty of heterologous expression and poor spinning performance of recombinant spider silk protein limit its application. A high-yield low-molecular-weight biomimetic spidroin (Amy-6rep) is obtained by sequence modification, and its excellent spinning performance is verified by electrospinning it for use as a nanogenerator. Amy-6rep increases the highly fibrogenic microcrystalline region in the core repeat region of natural spidroin with limited sequence length and replaces the polyalanine sequence with an amyloid polypeptide through structural similarity. Due to sequence modification, the expression of Amy-6rep increased by ≈200%, and the self-assembly performance of Amy-6rep significantly increased. After electrospinning with Amy-6rep, the nanofibers exhibit good tribopower generation capacity. In this paper, a biomimetic spidroin sequence design with high yield and good spinning performance is reported, and a strategy for electrospinning to produce an artificial nanogenerator is explored.
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Affiliation(s)
- Baoyang Lin
- College of Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical EngineeringSchool of Pharmaceutical SciencesNanjing Tech UniversityNanjing211816China
| | - Jingjun Xie
- College of Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical EngineeringSchool of Pharmaceutical SciencesNanjing Tech UniversityNanjing211816China
| | - Bingbing Gao
- College of Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical EngineeringSchool of Pharmaceutical SciencesNanjing Tech UniversityNanjing211816China
| | - Bingfang He
- College of Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical EngineeringSchool of Pharmaceutical SciencesNanjing Tech UniversityNanjing211816China
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3
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Yu Y, Chen K, Wang J, Zhang Z, Hu B, Liu X, Lin Z, Tan A. Custom-designed, mass silk production in genetically engineered silkworms. PNAS NEXUS 2024; 3:pgae128. [PMID: 38562581 PMCID: PMC10983830 DOI: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgae128] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2024] [Accepted: 03/14/2024] [Indexed: 04/04/2024]
Abstract
Genetically engineered silkworms have been widely used to obtain silk with modified characteristics especially by introducing spider silk genes. However, these attempts are still challenging due to limitations in transformation strategies and difficulties in integration of the large DNA fragments. Here, we describe three different transformation strategies in genetically engineered silkworms, including transcription-activator-like effector nuclease (TALEN)-mediated fibroin light chain (FibL) fusion (BmFibL-F), TALEN-mediated FibH replacement (BmFibH-R), and transposon-mediated genetic transformation with the silk gland-specific fibroin heavy chain (FibH) promoter (BmFibH-T). As the result, the yields of exogenous silk proteins, a 160 kDa major ampullate spidroin 2 (MaSp2) from the orb-weaving spider Nephila clavipes and a 226 kDa fibroin heavy chain protein (EvFibH) from the bagworm Eumeta variegate, reach 51.02 and 64.13% in BmFibH-R transformed cocoon shells, respectively. Moreover, the presence of MaSp2 or EvFibH significantly enhances the toughness of genetically engineered silk fibers by ∼86% in BmFibH-T and ∼80% in BmFibH-R silkworms, respectively. Structural analysis reveals a substantial ∼40% increase in fiber crystallinity, primarily attributed to the presence of unique polyalanines in the repetitive sequences of MaSp2 or EvFibH. In addition, RNA-seq analysis reveals that BmFibH-R system only causes minor impact on the expression of endogenous genes. Our study thus provides insights into developing custom-designed silk production using the genetically engineered silkworm as the bioreactor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ye Yu
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Sericultural Biology and Biotechnology, School of Biotechnology, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang 212100, China
- Key Laboratory of Silkworm and Mulberry Genetic Improvement, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Sericultural Scientific Research Center, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Zhenjiang 212100, China
| | - Kai Chen
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Sericultural Biology and Biotechnology, School of Biotechnology, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang 212100, China
- Key Laboratory of Silkworm and Mulberry Genetic Improvement, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Sericultural Scientific Research Center, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Zhenjiang 212100, China
| | - Jingxia Wang
- School of Life Sciences, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Function and Application of Biological Macromolecular Structures, School of Life Sciences, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
| | - Zhongjie Zhang
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Sericultural Biology and Biotechnology, School of Biotechnology, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang 212100, China
- Key Laboratory of Silkworm and Mulberry Genetic Improvement, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Sericultural Scientific Research Center, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Zhenjiang 212100, China
| | - Bo Hu
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Sericultural Biology and Biotechnology, School of Biotechnology, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang 212100, China
- Key Laboratory of Silkworm and Mulberry Genetic Improvement, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Sericultural Scientific Research Center, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Zhenjiang 212100, China
| | - Xiaojing Liu
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Sericultural Biology and Biotechnology, School of Biotechnology, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang 212100, China
- Key Laboratory of Silkworm and Mulberry Genetic Improvement, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Sericultural Scientific Research Center, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Zhenjiang 212100, China
| | - Zhi Lin
- School of Life Sciences, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Function and Application of Biological Macromolecular Structures, School of Life Sciences, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
| | - Anjiang Tan
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Sericultural Biology and Biotechnology, School of Biotechnology, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang 212100, China
- Key Laboratory of Silkworm and Mulberry Genetic Improvement, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Sericultural Scientific Research Center, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Zhenjiang 212100, China
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4
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Peng X, Liu Z, Gao J, Zhang Y, Wang H, Li C, Lv X, Gao Y, Deng H, Zhao B, Gao T, Li H. Influence of Spider Silk Protein Structure on Mechanical and Biological Properties for Energetic Material Detection. Molecules 2024; 29:1025. [PMID: 38474537 PMCID: PMC10934110 DOI: 10.3390/molecules29051025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2024] [Revised: 02/21/2024] [Accepted: 02/22/2024] [Indexed: 03/14/2024] Open
Abstract
Spider silk protein, renowned for its excellent mechanical properties, biodegradability, chemical stability, and low immune and inflammatory response activation, consists of a core domain with a repeat sequence and non-repeating sequences at the N-terminal and C-terminal. In this review, we focus on the relationship between the silk structure and its mechanical properties, exploring the potential applications of spider silk materials in the detection of energetic materials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinying Peng
- Toxicology Research Center, Institute for Hygiene of Ordnance Industry, NO. 12 Zhangbadong Road, Yanta District, Xi’an 710065, China (Z.L.)
- Xi’an Key Laboratory of Toxicology and Biological Effects, NO. 12 Zhangbadong Road, Yanta District, Xi’an 710065, China
| | - Zhiyong Liu
- Toxicology Research Center, Institute for Hygiene of Ordnance Industry, NO. 12 Zhangbadong Road, Yanta District, Xi’an 710065, China (Z.L.)
- Xi’an Key Laboratory of Toxicology and Biological Effects, NO. 12 Zhangbadong Road, Yanta District, Xi’an 710065, China
| | - Junhong Gao
- Toxicology Research Center, Institute for Hygiene of Ordnance Industry, NO. 12 Zhangbadong Road, Yanta District, Xi’an 710065, China (Z.L.)
- Xi’an Key Laboratory of Toxicology and Biological Effects, NO. 12 Zhangbadong Road, Yanta District, Xi’an 710065, China
| | - Yuhao Zhang
- Toxicology Research Center, Institute for Hygiene of Ordnance Industry, NO. 12 Zhangbadong Road, Yanta District, Xi’an 710065, China (Z.L.)
- Xi’an Key Laboratory of Toxicology and Biological Effects, NO. 12 Zhangbadong Road, Yanta District, Xi’an 710065, China
| | - Hong Wang
- Toxicology Research Center, Institute for Hygiene of Ordnance Industry, NO. 12 Zhangbadong Road, Yanta District, Xi’an 710065, China (Z.L.)
- Xi’an Key Laboratory of Toxicology and Biological Effects, NO. 12 Zhangbadong Road, Yanta District, Xi’an 710065, China
| | - Cunzhi Li
- Toxicology Research Center, Institute for Hygiene of Ordnance Industry, NO. 12 Zhangbadong Road, Yanta District, Xi’an 710065, China (Z.L.)
- Xi’an Key Laboratory of Toxicology and Biological Effects, NO. 12 Zhangbadong Road, Yanta District, Xi’an 710065, China
| | - Xiaoqiang Lv
- Toxicology Research Center, Institute for Hygiene of Ordnance Industry, NO. 12 Zhangbadong Road, Yanta District, Xi’an 710065, China (Z.L.)
- Xi’an Key Laboratory of Toxicology and Biological Effects, NO. 12 Zhangbadong Road, Yanta District, Xi’an 710065, China
| | - Yongchao Gao
- Toxicology Research Center, Institute for Hygiene of Ordnance Industry, NO. 12 Zhangbadong Road, Yanta District, Xi’an 710065, China (Z.L.)
- Xi’an Key Laboratory of Toxicology and Biological Effects, NO. 12 Zhangbadong Road, Yanta District, Xi’an 710065, China
| | - Hui Deng
- Toxicology Research Center, Institute for Hygiene of Ordnance Industry, NO. 12 Zhangbadong Road, Yanta District, Xi’an 710065, China (Z.L.)
- Xi’an Key Laboratory of Toxicology and Biological Effects, NO. 12 Zhangbadong Road, Yanta District, Xi’an 710065, China
| | - Bin Zhao
- Toxicology Research Center, Institute for Hygiene of Ordnance Industry, NO. 12 Zhangbadong Road, Yanta District, Xi’an 710065, China (Z.L.)
- Xi’an Key Laboratory of Toxicology and Biological Effects, NO. 12 Zhangbadong Road, Yanta District, Xi’an 710065, China
| | - Ting Gao
- Toxicology Research Center, Institute for Hygiene of Ordnance Industry, NO. 12 Zhangbadong Road, Yanta District, Xi’an 710065, China (Z.L.)
- Xi’an Key Laboratory of Toxicology and Biological Effects, NO. 12 Zhangbadong Road, Yanta District, Xi’an 710065, China
| | - Huan Li
- Toxicology Research Center, Institute for Hygiene of Ordnance Industry, NO. 12 Zhangbadong Road, Yanta District, Xi’an 710065, China (Z.L.)
- Xi’an Key Laboratory of Toxicology and Biological Effects, NO. 12 Zhangbadong Road, Yanta District, Xi’an 710065, China
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5
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Yang D, Wang S, Wang K, Zheng S, Zan X, Wen R. Physical Properties of the Second Type of Aciniform Spidroin (AcSp2) from Neoscona theisi Reveal a pH-Dependent Self-Assembly Repetitive Domain. ACS Biomater Sci Eng 2023; 9:6670-6682. [PMID: 38019679 DOI: 10.1021/acsbiomaterials.3c01194] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2023]
Abstract
Orb-weaving spiders can use an array of specialized silks with diverse mechanical properties and functions for daily survival. Of all spider silk types, aciniform silk is the toughest silk fiber that combines high strength and elasticity. Although aciniform spidroins (AcSp) are the main protein in aciniform silks, their complete genes have rarely been characterized until now. Moreover, the structural and physical properties of AcSp variant proteins within the species are also unclear. Here, we present three full-length AcSp genes (named AcSp1A, AcSp1B, and AcSp2) from the orb-weaving spider Neoscona theisi and investigate the structural and mechanical features of these three AcSp repetitive domains. We demonstrate that all three AcSp proteins have mainly α-helical structural features in neutral solution and high thermal stability. Significantly, the AcSp2 repetitive domain shows a pH-dependent structural transition from α to β conformations and can self-assemble into amyloid fibrils under acidic conditions, which is the first reported AcSp repetitive domain with pH-dependent self-assembly capacity. Compared with the other two AcSp spidroins, AcSp2 demonstrated the lowest expression level in the aciniform gland but had the highest strength for its silk fiber. Collectively, our findings provide new insight into the physical properties of each component of aciniform silk and expand the repertoire of known spidroin sequences for the synthesis of artificial silk materials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dong Yang
- Department of Radiation and Medical Oncology, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province 325035, China
- School of Ophthalmology and Optometry, Eye Hospital, School of Biomedical Engineering, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province 325035, China
| | - Suyang Wang
- Institute of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, China
| | - Kangkang Wang
- Oujiang Laboratory, Wenzhou Institute, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province 325000, China
| | - Shengwu Zheng
- Wenzhou Celecare Medical Instruments Co., Ltd., Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province 325000, China
| | - Xingjie Zan
- School of Ophthalmology and Optometry, Eye Hospital, School of Biomedical Engineering, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province 325035, China
- Oujiang Laboratory, Wenzhou Institute, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province 325000, China
| | - Rui Wen
- Department of Radiation and Medical Oncology, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province 325035, China
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6
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Miserez A, Yu J, Mohammadi P. Protein-Based Biological Materials: Molecular Design and Artificial Production. Chem Rev 2023; 123:2049-2111. [PMID: 36692900 PMCID: PMC9999432 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.2c00621] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 23.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
Polymeric materials produced from fossil fuels have been intimately linked to the development of industrial activities in the 20th century and, consequently, to the transformation of our way of living. While this has brought many benefits, the fabrication and disposal of these materials is bringing enormous sustainable challenges. Thus, materials that are produced in a more sustainable fashion and whose degradation products are harmless to the environment are urgently needed. Natural biopolymers─which can compete with and sometimes surpass the performance of synthetic polymers─provide a great source of inspiration. They are made of natural chemicals, under benign environmental conditions, and their degradation products are harmless. Before these materials can be synthetically replicated, it is essential to elucidate their chemical design and biofabrication. For protein-based materials, this means obtaining the complete sequences of the proteinaceous building blocks, a task that historically took decades of research. Thus, we start this review with a historical perspective on early efforts to obtain the primary sequences of load-bearing proteins, followed by the latest developments in sequencing and proteomic technologies that have greatly accelerated sequencing of extracellular proteins. Next, four main classes of protein materials are presented, namely fibrous materials, bioelastomers exhibiting high reversible deformability, hard bulk materials, and biological adhesives. In each class, we focus on the design at the primary and secondary structure levels and discuss their interplays with the mechanical response. We finally discuss earlier and the latest research to artificially produce protein-based materials using biotechnology and synthetic biology, including current developments by start-up companies to scale-up the production of proteinaceous materials in an economically viable manner.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ali Miserez
- Center for Sustainable Materials (SusMat), School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore637553.,School of Biological Sciences, NTU, Singapore637551
| | - Jing Yu
- Center for Sustainable Materials (SusMat), School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore637553.,Institute for Digital Molecular Analytics and Science (IDMxS), NTU, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore637553
| | - Pezhman Mohammadi
- VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd., Espoo, UusimaaFI-02044, Finland
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7
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Rising A, Harrington MJ. Biological Materials Processing: Time-Tested Tricks for Sustainable Fiber Fabrication. Chem Rev 2023; 123:2155-2199. [PMID: 36508546 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.2c00465] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
There is an urgent need to improve the sustainability of the materials we produce and use. Here, we explore what humans can learn from nature about how to sustainably fabricate polymeric fibers with excellent material properties by reviewing the physical and chemical aspects of materials processing distilled from diverse model systems, including spider silk, mussel byssus, velvet worm slime, hagfish slime, and mistletoe viscin. We identify common and divergent strategies, highlighting the potential for bioinspired design and technology transfer. Despite the diversity of the biopolymeric fibers surveyed, we identify several common strategies across multiple systems, including: (1) use of stimuli-responsive biomolecular building blocks, (2) use of concentrated fluid precursor phases (e.g., coacervates and liquid crystals) stored under controlled chemical conditions, and (3) use of chemical (pH, salt concentration, redox chemistry) and physical (mechanical shear, extensional flow) stimuli to trigger the transition from fluid precursor to solid material. Importantly, because these materials largely form and function outside of the body of the organisms, these principles can more easily be transferred for bioinspired design in synthetic systems. We end the review by discussing ongoing efforts and challenges to mimic biological model systems, with a particular focus on artificial spider silks and mussel-inspired materials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Rising
- Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge 141 52, Sweden.,Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Biochemistry, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala 750 07, Sweden
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8
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Jorge I, Ruiz V, Lavado-García J, Vázquez J, Hayashi C, Rojo FJ, Atienza JM, Elices M, Guinea GV, Pérez-Rigueiro J. Expression of spidroin proteins in the silk glands of golden orb-weaver spiders. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL ZOOLOGY. PART B, MOLECULAR AND DEVELOPMENTAL EVOLUTION 2022; 338:241-253. [PMID: 34981640 DOI: 10.1002/jez.b.23117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2021] [Revised: 12/13/2021] [Accepted: 12/19/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
The expression of spidroins in the major ampullate, minor ampullate, flagelliform, and tubuliform silk glands of Trichonephila clavipes spiders was analyzed using proteomics analysis techniques. Spidroin peptides were identified and assigned to different gene products based on sequence concurrence when compared with the whole genome of the spider. It was found that only a relatively low proportion of the spidroin genes are expressed as proteins in any of the studied glands. In addition, the expression of spidroin genes in different glands presents a wide range of patterns, with some spidroins being found in a single gland exclusively, while others appear in the content of several glands. The combination of precise genomics, proteomics, microstructural, and mechanical data provides new insights both on the design principles of these materials and how these principles might be translated for the production of high-performance bioinspired artificial fibers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Inmaculada Jorge
- Cardiovascular Proteomics Laboratory, Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC), Madrid, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Cardiovasculares (CIBERCV), Madrid, Spain
| | - Víctor Ruiz
- Centro de Tecnología Biomédica, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Departamento de Ciencia de Materiales, ETSI Caminos, Canales y Puertos, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Jesús Lavado-García
- Cardiovascular Proteomics Laboratory, Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC), Madrid, Spain
- Departament d'Enginyeria Química, Grup d'Enginyeria Cel·lular i de Bioprocessos (GECIB), Biològica i Ambiental, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Jesús Vázquez
- Cardiovascular Proteomics Laboratory, Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC), Madrid, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Cardiovasculares (CIBERCV), Madrid, Spain
| | - Cheryl Hayashi
- Division of Invertebrate Zoology, Sackler Institute for Comparative Genomics, American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA
| | - Francisco J Rojo
- Centro de Tecnología Biomédica, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Departamento de Ciencia de Materiales, ETSI Caminos, Canales y Puertos, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - José M Atienza
- Centro de Tecnología Biomédica, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Departamento de Ciencia de Materiales, ETSI Caminos, Canales y Puertos, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Manuel Elices
- Centro de Tecnología Biomédica, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Departamento de Ciencia de Materiales, ETSI Caminos, Canales y Puertos, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Biomedical Research Networking Center in Bioengineering, Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN), Madrid, Spain
| | - Gustavo V Guinea
- Centro de Tecnología Biomédica, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Departamento de Ciencia de Materiales, ETSI Caminos, Canales y Puertos, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Biomedical Research Networking Center in Bioengineering, Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN), Madrid, Spain
| | - José Pérez-Rigueiro
- Centro de Tecnología Biomédica, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Departamento de Ciencia de Materiales, ETSI Caminos, Canales y Puertos, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Biomedical Research Networking Center in Bioengineering, Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN), Madrid, Spain
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9
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Ramezaniaghdam M, Nahdi ND, Reski R. Recombinant Spider Silk: Promises and Bottlenecks. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2022; 10:835637. [PMID: 35350182 PMCID: PMC8957953 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2022.835637] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2021] [Accepted: 02/01/2022] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Spider silk threads have exceptional mechanical properties such as toughness, elasticity and low density, which reach maximum values compared to other fibre materials. They are superior even compared to Kevlar and steel. These extraordinary properties stem from long length and specific protein structures. Spider silk proteins can consist of more than 20,000 amino acids. Polypeptide stretches account for more than 90% of the whole protein, and these domains can be repeated more than a hundred times. Each repeat unit has a specific function resulting in the final properties of the silk. These properties make them attractive for innovative material development for medical or technical products as well as cosmetics. However, with livestock breeding of spiders it is not possible to reach high volumes of silk due to the cannibalistic behaviour of these animals. In order to obtain spider silk proteins (spidroins) on a large scale, recombinant production is attempted in various expression systems such as plants, bacteria, yeasts, insects, silkworms, mammalian cells and animals. For viable large-scale production, cost-effective and efficient production systems are needed. This review describes the different types of spider silk, their proteins and structures and discusses the production of these difficult-to-express proteins in different host organisms with an emphasis on plant systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maryam Ramezaniaghdam
- Plant Biotechnology, Faculty of Biology, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence livMatS at FIT – Freiburg Center for Interactive Materials and Bioinspired Technologies, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Nadia D. Nahdi
- Plant Biotechnology, Faculty of Biology, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Ralf Reski
- Plant Biotechnology, Faculty of Biology, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence livMatS at FIT – Freiburg Center for Interactive Materials and Bioinspired Technologies, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
- *Correspondence: Ralf Reski,
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10
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Diaz C, Baker RH, Long JH, Hayashi CY. Connecting materials, performance and evolution: a case study of the glue of moth-catching spiders (Cyrtarachninae). J Exp Biol 2022; 225:274249. [PMID: 35119070 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.243271] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Morphological structures and extended phenotypes are made possible by materials that are encoded by the genome. Nearly all biomaterials are viscoelastic, which means that to understand performance, one must understand the strain rate-dependent properties of these materials in relevant ecological interactions, as the behavior of a material can vary dramatically and rapidly. Spider silks are an example of materials whose properties vary substantially intra- and inter-specifically. Here, we focus on aggregate silk, which functions as a biological adhesive. As a case study to understand how a material manifests from genome through organism to ecology, we highlight moth-specialist spiders, the Cyrtarachninae, and their glues as an ideal experimental system to investigate the relationship between genomics and ecologically variable performance of a biological material. There is a clear eco-evolutionary innovation that Cyrtarachne akirai and related species have evolved, a unique trait not found in other spiders, a glue which overcomes the scales of moths. By examining traditional orb-weavers, C. akirai and other subfamily members using biomechanical testing and genomic analysis, we argue that we can track the evolution of this novel bioadhesive and comment on the selection pressures influencing prey specialization. The importance of the ecological context of materials testing is exemplified by the poor performance of C. akirai glue on glass and the exceptional spreading ability and adhesive strength on moths. The genetic basis for these performance properties is experimentally tractable because spider silk genes are minimally pleiotropic and advances in genomic technologies now make possible the discovery of complete silk gene sequences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Candido Diaz
- Department of Biology, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY 12604-0731, USA
| | - Richard H Baker
- Division of Invertebrate Zoology and Institute for Comparative Genomics, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024, USA
| | - John H Long
- Department of Biology, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY 12604-0731, USA
| | - Cheryl Y Hayashi
- Division of Invertebrate Zoology and Institute for Comparative Genomics, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024, USA
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11
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Li J, Li S, Huang J, Khan AQ, An B, Zhou X, Liu Z, Zhu M. Spider Silk-Inspired Artificial Fibers. ADVANCED SCIENCE (WEINHEIM, BADEN-WURTTEMBERG, GERMANY) 2022; 9:e2103965. [PMID: 34927397 PMCID: PMC8844500 DOI: 10.1002/advs.202103965] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2021] [Revised: 11/19/2021] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
Spider silk is a natural polymeric fiber with high tensile strength, toughness, and has distinct thermal, optical, and biocompatible properties. The mechanical properties of spider silk are ascribed to its hierarchical structure, including primary and secondary structures of the spidroins (spider silk proteins), the nanofibril, the "core-shell", and the "nano-fishnet" structures. In addition, spider silk also exhibits remarkable properties regarding humidity/water response, water collection, light transmission, thermal conductance, and shape-memory effect. This motivates researchers to prepare artificial functional fibers mimicking spider silk. In this review, the authors summarize the study of the structure and properties of natural spider silk, and the biomimetic preparation of artificial fibers from different types of molecules and polymers by taking some examples of artificial fibers exhibiting these interesting properties. In conclusion, biomimetic studies have yielded several noteworthy findings in artificial fibers with different functions, and this review aims to provide indications for biomimetic studies of functional fibers that approach and exceed the properties of natural spider silk.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiatian Li
- State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical BiologyCollege of Pharmacy and College of ChemistryKey Laboratory of Functional Polymer MaterialsFrontiers Science Center for New Organic MatterNankai UniversityTianjin300071China
| | - Sitong Li
- State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical BiologyCollege of Pharmacy and College of ChemistryKey Laboratory of Functional Polymer MaterialsFrontiers Science Center for New Organic MatterNankai UniversityTianjin300071China
| | - Jiayi Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical BiologyCollege of Pharmacy and College of ChemistryKey Laboratory of Functional Polymer MaterialsFrontiers Science Center for New Organic MatterNankai UniversityTianjin300071China
| | - Abdul Qadeer Khan
- State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical BiologyCollege of Pharmacy and College of ChemistryKey Laboratory of Functional Polymer MaterialsFrontiers Science Center for New Organic MatterNankai UniversityTianjin300071China
| | - Baigang An
- School of Chemical EngineeringUniversity of Science and Technology LiaoningAnshan114051China
| | - Xiang Zhou
- Department of ScienceChina Pharmaceutical UniversityNanjing211198China
| | - Zunfeng Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical BiologyCollege of Pharmacy and College of ChemistryKey Laboratory of Functional Polymer MaterialsFrontiers Science Center for New Organic MatterNankai UniversityTianjin300071China
- School of Chemical EngineeringUniversity of Science and Technology LiaoningAnshan114051China
| | - Meifang Zhu
- State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer MaterialsCollege of Materials Science and EngineeringDonghua UniversityShanghai201620China
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Li X, Qi X, Cai YM, Sun Y, Wen R, Zhang R, Johansson J, Meng Q, Chen G. Customized Flagelliform Spidroins Form Spider Silk-like Fibers at pH 8.0 with Outstanding Tensile Strength. ACS Biomater Sci Eng 2021; 8:119-127. [PMID: 34908395 PMCID: PMC8753598 DOI: 10.1021/acsbiomaterials.1c01354] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Spider flagelliform silk shows the best extensibility among various types of silk, but its biomimetic preparation has not been much studied. Herein, five customized flagelliform spidroins (FlSps: S and NTDFl-Sn-CTDFl, n = 1-4), in which the repetitive region (S) and N-/C- terminal domains (NTDFl and CTDFl) are from the same spidroin and spider species, were produced recombinantly. The recombinant spidroins with terminal domains were able to form silk-like fibers with diameters of ∼5 μm by manual pulling at pH 8.0, where the secondary structure transformation occurred. The silk-like fibers from NTDFl-S4-CTDFl showed the highest tensile strength (∼250 MPa), while those ones with 1-3 S broke at a similar stress (∼180 MPa), suggesting that increasing the amounts of the repetitive region can improve the tensile strength, but a certain threshold might need to be reached. This study shows successful preparation of flagelliform silk-like fibers with good mechanical properties, providing general insights into efficient biomimetic preparations of spider silks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xue Li
- Department of Medical Ultrasound, Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital, Ultrasound Research and Education Institute, Tongji University Cancer Center, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Ultrasound Diagnosis and Treatment, Tongji University School of Medicine, 200092 Shanghai, China.,Institute of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Donghua University, 201620 Shanghai, China
| | - Xingmei Qi
- The Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Infection and Immunity, Institutes of Biology and Medical Sciences, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Yu-Ming Cai
- Institute for Life Sciences, University of Southampton, SO17 1BJ Southampton, Hampshire, U.K
| | - Yuan Sun
- Institute of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Donghua University, 201620 Shanghai, China
| | - Rui Wen
- Institute of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Donghua University, 201620 Shanghai, China
| | - Rui Zhang
- Department of Pulmonary Circulation, Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200433, China
| | - Jan Johansson
- Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Karolinska Institutet, 14157 Huddinge, Sweden
| | - Qing Meng
- Institute of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Donghua University, 201620 Shanghai, China
| | - Gefei Chen
- Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Karolinska Institutet, 14157 Huddinge, Sweden
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13
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Harper JR, Sripada N, Kher P, Whittall JB, Edgerly JS. Interpreting nature's finest insect silks (Order Embioptera): hydropathy, interrupted repetitive motifs, and fiber-to-film transformation for two neotropical species. ZOOLOGY 2021; 146:125923. [PMID: 33901836 DOI: 10.1016/j.zool.2021.125923] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2020] [Revised: 03/14/2021] [Accepted: 03/19/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Silks produced by webspinners (Order Embioptera) interact with water by transforming from fiber to film, which then becomes slippery and capable of shedding water. We chose to explore this mechanism by analyzing and comparing the silk protein transcripts of two species with overlapping distributions in Trinidad but from different taxonomic families. The transcript of one, Antipaluria urichi (Clothodidae), was partially characterized in 2009 providing a control for our methods to characterize a second species: Pararhagadochir trinitatis (Scelembiidae), a family that adds to the taxon sampling for this little known order of insects. Previous reports showed that embiopteran silk protein (dubbed Efibroin) consists of a protein core of repetitive motifs largely composed of glycine (Gly), serine (Ser), and alanine (Ala) and a highly conserved C-terminal region. Based on mRNA extracted from silk glands, Next Generation sequencing, and de novo assembly, P. trinitatis silk can be characterized by repetitive motifs of Gly-Ser followed periodically by Gly-Asparagine (Asn-an unusual amino acid for Efibroins) and by a lack of Ala which is otherwise common in Efibroins. The putative N-terminal domain, composed mostly of polar, charged and bulky amino acids, is ten amino acids long with cysteine in the 10th position-a feature likely related to stabilization of the silk fibers. The 29 amino acids of the C-terminus for P. trinitatis silk closely resemble that of other Efibroin sequences, which show 74% shared identity on average. Examination of hydropathicity of Efibroins of both P. trinitatis and An. urichi revealed that these proteins are largely hydrophilic despite having a thin lipid coating on each nano-fiber. We deduced that the hydrophilic quality differs for the two species: due to Ser and Asn for P. trinitatis silk and to previously undetected spacers in An. urichi silk. Spacers are known from some spider and silkworm silks but this is the first report of such for Embioptera. Analysis of hydropathicity revealed the largely hydrophilic quality of these silks and this feature likely explains why water causes the transformation from fiber to film. We compared spun silk to the transcript and detected not insignificant differences between the two measurements implying that as yet undetermined post-translational modifications of their silk may occur. In addition, we found evidence for codon bias in the nucleotides of the putative silk transcript for P. trinitatis, a feature also known for other embiopteran silk genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- J René Harper
- Department of Biology, 500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, California, 95053, USA.
| | - Neeraja Sripada
- Department of Biology, 500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, California, 95053, USA.
| | - Pooja Kher
- Department of Biology, 500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, California, 95053, USA.
| | - Justen B Whittall
- Department of Biology, 500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, California, 95053, USA.
| | - Janice S Edgerly
- Department of Biology, 500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, California, 95053, USA.
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14
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de C Bittencourt DM, Oliveira PF, Souto BM, de Freitas SM, Silva LP, Murad AM, Michalczechen-Lacerda VA, Lewis RV, Rech EL. Molecular Dynamics of Synthetic Flagelliform Silk Fiber Assembly. MACROMOLECULAR MATERIALS AND ENGINEERING 2021; 306:2000530. [PMID: 34539237 PMCID: PMC8445496 DOI: 10.1002/mame.202000530] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2020] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
In order to better understand the relationship between Flagelliform (Flag) spider silk molecular structural organization and the mechanisms of fiber assembly, it was designed and produced the Nephilengys cruentata Flag spidroin analogue rNcFlag2222. The recombinant proteins are composed by the elastic repetitive glycine-rich motifs (GPGGX/GGX) and the spacer region, rich in hydrophilic charged amino acids, present at the native silk spidroin. Using different approaches for nanomolecular protein analysis, the structural data of rNcFlag2222 recombinant proteins were compared in its fibrillar and in its fully solvated states. Based on the results was possible to identify the molecular structural dynamics of NcFlag2222 prior to and after fiber formation. Overal rNcFlag2222 shows a mixture of semiflexible and rigid conformations, characterized mostly by the presence of PPII, β-turn and β-sheet. These results agree with previous studies and bring insights about the molecular mechanisms that might driven Flag silk fibers assembly and elastomeric behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela M de C Bittencourt
- Brazilian Agriculture Research Corporation - Embrapa Genetic Resources and Biotechnology CENARGEN, Parque Estação Biológica, PqEB, Av. W5 Norte (final), Brasília DF, 70770-917, Brazil
| | - Paula F Oliveira
- Department of Biology, Utah State University, 5305 Old Main Hill, Logan UT, 84322-5305, US
| | - Betulia M Souto
- Brazilian Agriculture Research Corporation - Embrapa Agroenergy, STN - Brasília, DF, 70297-400, Brazil
| | - Sonia M de Freitas
- Department of Cell Biology, Institute of BiologicDral Sciences, University of Brasilia, Campos Darcy Ribeiro, Asa Norte, Brasilia, DF, 70910-900, Brazil
| | - Luciano P Silva
- Brazilian Agriculture Research Corporation - Embrapa Genetic Resources and Biotechnology CENARGEN, Parque Estação Biológica, PqEB, Av. W5 Norte (final), Brasília DF, 70770-917, Brazil
| | - Andre M Murad
- Brazilian Agriculture Research Corporation - Embrapa Genetic Resources and Biotechnology CENARGEN, Parque Estação Biológica, PqEB, Av. W5 Norte (final), Brasília DF, 70770-917, Brazil
| | - Valquiria A Michalczechen-Lacerda
- Brazilian Agriculture Research Corporation - Embrapa Genetic Resources and Biotechnology CENARGEN, Parque Estação Biológica, PqEB, Av. W5 Norte (final), Brasília DF, 70770-917, Brazil
| | - Randolph V Lewis
- Department of Biology, Utah State University, 5305 Old Main Hill, Logan UT, 84322-5305, US
| | - Elibio L Rech
- Brazilian Agriculture Research Corporation - Embrapa Genetic Resources and Biotechnology CENARGEN, Parque Estação Biológica, PqEB, Av. W5 Norte (final), Brasília DF, 70770-917, Brazil
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15
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Tian LY, Meng Q, Lin Y. Expression and characterization of chimeric spidroins from flagelliform-aciniform repetitive modules. Biopolymers 2020; 111:e23404. [PMID: 33075850 DOI: 10.1002/bip.23404] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2020] [Revised: 10/01/2020] [Accepted: 10/05/2020] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
Spiders can produce up to seven different types of silks or glues with different mechanical properties. Of these, flagelliform (Flag) silk is the most elastic, and aciniform (AcSp1) silk is the toughest. To produce a chimeric spider silk (spidroin) FlagR -AcSp1R , we fused one repetitive module of flagelliform silk from Araneus ventricosus and one repetitive module of aciniform silk from Argiope trifasciata. The recombinant protein expressed in E. coli formed silk-like fibers by manual-drawing. CD analysis showed that the secondary structure of FlagR -AcSp1R spidroin remained stable during the gradual reduction of pH from 7.0 to 5.5. The spectrum of FTIR indicated that the secondary structure of FlagR -AcSp1R changed from α-helix to β-sheet. The conformation change of FlagR -AcSp1R was similar to other spidroins in the fiber formation process. SEM analysis revealed that the mean diameter of the fibers was around 1 ~ 2 μm, and the surface was smooth and uniform. The chimeric fibers exhibited superior toughness (~33.1 MJ/m3 ) and tensile strength (~261.4 MPa). This study provides new insight into design of chimeric spider silks with high mechanical properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lu-Yang Tian
- College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Donghua University, Shanghai, China
| | - Qing Meng
- College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Donghua University, Shanghai, China
| | - Ying Lin
- College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Donghua University, Shanghai, China
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16
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Li X, Mi J, Wen R, Zhang J, Cai Y, Meng Q, Lin Y. Wet-Spinning Synthetic Fibers from Aggregate Glue: Aggregate Spidroin 1 (AgSp1). ACS APPLIED BIO MATERIALS 2020; 3:5957-5965. [PMID: 35021824 DOI: 10.1021/acsabm.0c00619] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Spidroin has the potential of wide applications in the biomedicine field as a natural biomaterial. Various synthetic fibers with outstanding mechanical properties have been produced from different spidroins. However, studies on the structural analysis or biomimetic exploration of aggregate spidroin (AgSp) remain scarce. Here, three recombinant AgSp1 spidroins (1RP, 1RC, 3RP) were constructed and expressed in Escherichia coli, followed by purification via coupling heating and ammonium sulfate precipitation. Circular dichroism (CD) spectrum-based secondary structural analysis shows that 1RP and 3RP have similar structures (mainly random coil) in water and PB buffer, while 1RC is mainly composed of α-helix structure and HFIP can change all of the recombinant AgSp1 into helix structure. Through the wet-spinning method, six types of synthetic fibers were produced from these three recombinant AgSp1 spidroins. Subsequently, the properties and structures of synthetic fibers were characterized by mechanical testing and ATR-FTIR. Synthetic fibers spun from 3RP have considerable tensile strength and extensibility (∼37.56 MPa and ∼4.5%, respectively). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first synthetic fiber obtained from AgSp spidroin. Our results demonstrated that AgSp1 can be regarded as an available source of spidroin for silklike fiber production and may provide valuable perspectives on the AgSp1 biomimetic process for certain applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xue Li
- Institute of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, P. R. China
| | - Junpeng Mi
- Institute of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, P. R. China
| | - Rui Wen
- Institute of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, P. R. China
| | - Jie Zhang
- Institute of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, P. R. China
| | - Yuming Cai
- Institute of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, P. R. China
| | - Qing Meng
- Institute of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, P. R. China
| | - Ying Lin
- Institute of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, P. R. China
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Expanding Canonical Spider Silk Properties through a DNA Combinatorial Approach. MATERIALS 2020; 13:ma13163596. [PMID: 32823912 PMCID: PMC7475873 DOI: 10.3390/ma13163596] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2020] [Revised: 08/09/2020] [Accepted: 08/10/2020] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
The properties of native spider silk vary within and across species due to the presence of different genes containing conserved repetitive core domains encoding a variety of silk proteins. Previous studies seeking to understand the function and material properties of these domains focused primarily on the analysis of dragline silk proteins, MaSp1 and MaSp2. Our work seeks to broaden the mechanical properties of silk-based biomaterials by establishing two libraries containing genes from the repetitive core region of the native Latrodectus hesperus silk genome (Library A: genes masp1, masp2, tusp1, acsp1; Library B: genes acsp1, pysp1, misp1, flag). The expressed and purified proteins were analyzed through Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometry (FTIR). Some of these new proteins revealed a higher portion of β-sheet content in recombinant proteins produced from gene constructs containing a combination of masp1/masp2 and acsp1/tusp1 genes than recombinant proteins which consisted solely of dragline silk genes (Library A). A higher portion of β-turn and random coil content was identified in recombinant proteins from pysp1 and flag genes (Library B). Mechanical characterization of selected proteins purified from Library A and Library B formed into films was assessed by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and suggested Library A recombinant proteins had higher elastic moduli when compared to Library B recombinant proteins. Both libraries had higher elastic moduli when compared to native spider silk proteins. The preliminary approach demonstrated here suggests that repetitive core regions of the aforementioned genes can be used as building blocks for new silk-based biomaterials with varying mechanical properties.
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18
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Wen R, Wang K, Meng Q. Two novel tubuliform silk gene sequences from Araneus ventricosus provide evidence for multiple loci in genome. Int J Biol Macromol 2020; 160:806-813. [PMID: 32446899 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2020.05.141] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2020] [Revised: 05/06/2020] [Accepted: 05/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Spiders produce a diversity of silk fibers from multiple morphologically distinct silk glands for specific tasks, and each silk type primarily composed of one or more particular silk proteins encoded by silk gene family members believed to generated by duplication and divergence of ancient silk genes. Egg case silks spun from tubuliform glands are used to construct the tough outer structure of egg cases, are important for their reproduction. Here we present two novel complete TuSp1 sequences from orb weaving spider Araneus ventricosus. Alignment of the two spidroin iterated repeats showed both extreme intragenic homogenization. The pairwise Ka/Ks analysis revealed the terminal and repetitive regions for three TuSp1 loci including the reported TuSp1 gene are all under purifying selection. Phylogenetic analysis showed the two new TuSp1 variants could derive from recent duplication events.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rui Wen
- Institute of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Donghua University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China
| | - Kangkang Wang
- Institute of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Donghua University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China
| | - Qing Meng
- Institute of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Donghua University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
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19
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Li Y, Li J, Sun J, He H, Li B, Ma C, Liu K, Zhang H. Bioinspired and Mechanically Strong Fibers Based on Engineered Non‐Spider Chimeric Proteins. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2020. [DOI: 10.1002/ange.202002399] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Yuanxin Li
- State Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Resource UtilizationChangchun Institute of Applied ChemistryChinese Academy of Sciences Changchun 130022 China
- University of Science and Technology of China Hefei 230026 China
| | - Jingjing Li
- State Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Resource UtilizationChangchun Institute of Applied ChemistryChinese Academy of Sciences Changchun 130022 China
| | - Jing Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Resource UtilizationChangchun Institute of Applied ChemistryChinese Academy of Sciences Changchun 130022 China
| | - Haonan He
- State Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Resource UtilizationChangchun Institute of Applied ChemistryChinese Academy of Sciences Changchun 130022 China
- University of Science and Technology of China Hefei 230026 China
| | - Bo Li
- State Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Resource UtilizationChangchun Institute of Applied ChemistryChinese Academy of Sciences Changchun 130022 China
| | - Chao Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Resource UtilizationChangchun Institute of Applied ChemistryChinese Academy of Sciences Changchun 130022 China
| | - Kai Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Resource UtilizationChangchun Institute of Applied ChemistryChinese Academy of Sciences Changchun 130022 China
- Department of ChemistryTsinghua University Beijing 100084 China
- University of Science and Technology of China Hefei 230026 China
| | - Hongjie Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Resource UtilizationChangchun Institute of Applied ChemistryChinese Academy of Sciences Changchun 130022 China
- Department of ChemistryTsinghua University Beijing 100084 China
- University of Science and Technology of China Hefei 230026 China
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20
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Li Y, Li J, Sun J, He H, Li B, Ma C, Liu K, Zhang H. Bioinspired and Mechanically Strong Fibers Based on Engineered Non‐Spider Chimeric Proteins. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2020; 59:8148-8152. [DOI: 10.1002/anie.202002399] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2020] [Revised: 03/05/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Yuanxin Li
- State Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Resource UtilizationChangchun Institute of Applied ChemistryChinese Academy of Sciences Changchun 130022 China
- University of Science and Technology of China Hefei 230026 China
| | - Jingjing Li
- State Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Resource UtilizationChangchun Institute of Applied ChemistryChinese Academy of Sciences Changchun 130022 China
| | - Jing Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Resource UtilizationChangchun Institute of Applied ChemistryChinese Academy of Sciences Changchun 130022 China
| | - Haonan He
- State Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Resource UtilizationChangchun Institute of Applied ChemistryChinese Academy of Sciences Changchun 130022 China
- University of Science and Technology of China Hefei 230026 China
| | - Bo Li
- State Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Resource UtilizationChangchun Institute of Applied ChemistryChinese Academy of Sciences Changchun 130022 China
| | - Chao Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Resource UtilizationChangchun Institute of Applied ChemistryChinese Academy of Sciences Changchun 130022 China
| | - Kai Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Resource UtilizationChangchun Institute of Applied ChemistryChinese Academy of Sciences Changchun 130022 China
- Department of ChemistryTsinghua University Beijing 100084 China
- University of Science and Technology of China Hefei 230026 China
| | - Hongjie Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Resource UtilizationChangchun Institute of Applied ChemistryChinese Academy of Sciences Changchun 130022 China
- Department of ChemistryTsinghua University Beijing 100084 China
- University of Science and Technology of China Hefei 230026 China
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21
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Guo C, Li C, Mu X, Kaplan DL. Engineering Silk Materials: From Natural Spinning to Artificial Processing. APPLIED PHYSICS REVIEWS 2020; 7:011313. [PMID: 34367402 PMCID: PMC8340942 DOI: 10.1063/1.5091442] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2019] [Accepted: 01/23/2020] [Indexed: 05/17/2023]
Abstract
Silks spun by the arthropods are "ancient' materials historically utilized for fabricating high-quality textiles. Silks are natural protein-based biomaterials with unique physical and biological properties, including particularly outstanding mechanical properties and biocompatibility. Current goals to produce artificially engineered silks to enable additional applications in biomedical engineering, consumer products, and device fields, have prompted considerable effort towards new silk processing methods using bio-inspired spinning and advanced biopolymer processing. These advances have redefined silk as a promising biomaterial past traditional textile applications and into tissue engineering, drug delivery, and biodegradable medical devices. In this review, we highlight recent progress in understanding natural silk spinning systems, as well as advanced technologies used for processing and engineering silk into a broad range of new functional materials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chengchen Guo
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts 02155, United States
| | - Chunmei Li
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts 02155, United States
| | - Xuan Mu
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts 02155, United States
| | - David L. Kaplan
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts 02155, United States
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22
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Xu S, Li X, Zhou Y, Lin Y, Meng Q. Structural characterization and mechanical properties of chimeric Masp1/Flag minispidroins. Biochimie 2020; 168:251-258. [DOI: 10.1016/j.biochi.2019.11.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2019] [Accepted: 11/22/2019] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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The molecular structure of novel pyriform spidroin (PySp2) reveals extremely complex central repetitive region. Int J Biol Macromol 2019; 145:437-444. [PMID: 31843611 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2019.12.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2019] [Revised: 12/03/2019] [Accepted: 12/03/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Orb-weaving spiders produce a diversity of silk fibers throughout their entire lifecycle, and each silk type is given a specific purpose. As a dry fiber material with wet glue, pyriform silks are different from other silk fibers and make the attachment discs which are used for bonding fibers together and attaching dragline silk to other substrates. To date, only two full-length pyriform spidroin 1 (PySp1) gene sequences were identified. Here we present a novel full-length pyriform spidroin 2 (PySp2) from orb-weaving spider, Araneus ventricosus. Although the A. ventricosus PySp2 lack the long linker regions, the central repetitive region of PySp2 is more complex than PySp1 and can be classified into four types of repetitive regions including three novel repetitive sequences and one type of repetitive region that is similar to PySp1 repeats. Prediction of hydrophobicity of A. ventricosus PySp2 reveals the two new repetitive regions display strong hydrophilicity. Analysis of CD spectrum and secondary structure prediction for A. ventricosus PySp2 repeat unit reveal α-helix conformation dominates the repetitive region. Furthermore, recombinant protein-based artificial fibers show the single repeat unit is sufficient for self-assembling into silk fiber.
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24
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Toward Spider Glue: Long Read Scaffolding for Extreme Length and Repetitious Silk Family Genes AgSp1 and AgSp2 with Insights into Functional Adaptation. G3-GENES GENOMES GENETICS 2019; 9:1909-1919. [PMID: 30975702 PMCID: PMC6553539 DOI: 10.1534/g3.119.400065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
An individual orb weaving spider can spin up to seven different types of silk, each with unique functions and material properties. The capture spiral silk of classic two-dimensional aerial orb webs is coated with an amorphous glue that functions to retain prey that get caught in a web. This unique modified silk is partially comprised of spidroins (spider fibroins) encoded by two members of the silk gene family. The glue differs from solid silk fibers as it is a viscoelastic, amorphic, wet material that is responsive to environmental conditions. Most spidroins are encoded by extremely large, highly repetitive genes that cannot be sequenced using short read technology alone, as the repetitive regions are longer than read length. We sequenced for the first time the complete genomic Aggregate Spidroin 1 (AgSp1) and Aggregate Spidroin 2 (AgSp2) glue genes of orb weaving spider Argiope trifasciata using error-prone long reads to scaffold for high accuracy short reads. The massive coding sequences are 42,270 bp (AgSp1) and 20,526 bp (AgSp2) in length, the largest silk genes currently described. The majority of the predicted amino acid sequence of AgSp1 consists of two similar but distinct motifs that are repeated ∼40 times each, while AgSp2 contains ∼48 repetitions of an AgSp1-similar motif, interspersed by regions high in glutamine. Comparisons of AgSp repetitive motifs from orb web and cobweb spiders show regions of strict conservation followed by striking diversification. Glues from these two spider families have evolved contrasting material properties in adhesion (stickiness), extensibility (stretchiness), and elasticity (the ability of the material to resume its native shape), which we link to mechanisms established for related silk genes in the same family. Full-length aggregate spidroin sequences from diverse species with differing material characteristics will provide insights for designing tunable bio-inspired adhesives for a variety of unique purposes.
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25
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Xu L, Weatherbee-Martin N, Liu XQ, Rainey JK. Recombinant Silk Fiber Properties Correlate to Prefibrillar Self-Assembly. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2019; 15:e1805294. [PMID: 30756524 DOI: 10.1002/smll.201805294] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2018] [Revised: 01/18/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Spider silks are desirable materials with mechanical properties superior to most synthetic materials coupled with biodegradability and biocompatibility. In order to replicate natural silk properties using recombinant spider silk proteins (spidroins) and wet-spinning methods, the focus to date has typically been on modifying protein sequence, protein size, and spinning conditions. Here, an alternative approach is demonstrated. Namely, using the same ≈57 kDa recombinant aciniform silk protein with a consistent wet-spinning protocol, fiber mechanical properties are shown to significantly differ as a function of the solvent used to dissolve the protein at high concentration (the "spinning dope" solution). A fluorinated acid/alcohol/water dope leads to drastic improvement in fibrillar extensibility and, correspondingly, toughness compared to fibers produced using a previously developed fluorinated alcohol/water dope. To understand the underlying cause for these mechanical differences, morphology and structure of the two classes of silk fiber are compared, with features tracing back to dope-state protein structuring and preassembly. Specifically, distinct classes of spidroin nanoparticles appear to form in each dope prior to fiber spinning and these preassembled states are, in turn, linked to fiber morphology, structure, and mechanical properties. Tailoring of dope-state spidroin nanoparticle assembly, thus, appears a promising strategy to modulate fibrillar silk properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lingling Xu
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 4R2, Canada
| | - Nathan Weatherbee-Martin
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 4R2, Canada
| | - Xiang-Qin Liu
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 4R2, Canada
| | - Jan K Rainey
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 4R2, Canada
- Department of Chemistry, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 4R2, Canada
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26
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Dos Santos-Pinto JRA, Arcuri HA, Esteves FG, Palma MS, Lubec G. Spider silk proteome provides insight into the structural characterization of Nephila clavipes flagelliform spidroin. Sci Rep 2018; 8:14674. [PMID: 30279551 PMCID: PMC6168590 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-33068-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2018] [Accepted: 09/12/2018] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The capture spiral of web from N. clavipes spider consists of a single type of spidroin - the flagelliform silk protein, a natural material representing a combination of strength and high elasticity. Flagelliform spider silk is the most extensible silk fibre produced by orb weaver spiders and the structure of this remarkable material is still largely unknown. In the present study we used a proteomic approach to elucidate the complete sequence and the post-translational modifications of flagelliform silk proteins. The long sequence of flagelliform silk protein presents 45 hydroxylated proline residues, which may contribute to explain the mechanoelastic property of these fibres, since they are located in the GPGGX motif. The 3D-structure of the protein was modelled considering the three domains together, i.e., the N- and C-terminal non-repetitive domains, and the central repetitive domain. In the resulting molecular model there is a predominance of random structures in the solid fibres of the silk protein. The N-terminal domain is composed of three α-helices and the C-terminal domain is composed of one small helical section. Proteomic data reported herein may be relevant for the development of novel approaches for the synthetic or recombinant production of novel silk-based spider polymers.
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Affiliation(s)
- José Roberto Aparecido Dos Santos-Pinto
- Center of the Study of Social Insects, Department of Biology, Institute of Biosciences of Rio Claro, São Paulo State University, Rio Claro, SP, 13500, Brazil
| | - Helen Andrade Arcuri
- Center of the Study of Social Insects, Department of Biology, Institute of Biosciences of Rio Claro, São Paulo State University, Rio Claro, SP, 13500, Brazil
| | - Franciele Grego Esteves
- Center of the Study of Social Insects, Department of Biology, Institute of Biosciences of Rio Claro, São Paulo State University, Rio Claro, SP, 13500, Brazil
| | - Mario Sergio Palma
- Center of the Study of Social Insects, Department of Biology, Institute of Biosciences of Rio Claro, São Paulo State University, Rio Claro, SP, 13500, Brazil.
| | - Gert Lubec
- Paracelsus Medical University, A 5020, Salzburg, Austria.
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27
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Zheng K, Ling S. De Novo Design of Recombinant Spider Silk Proteins for Material Applications. Biotechnol J 2018; 14:e1700753. [PMID: 29781251 DOI: 10.1002/biot.201700753] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2018] [Revised: 04/22/2018] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Spider silks are well known for their superior mechanical properties that are stronger and tougher than steel despite being assembled at close to ambient conditions and using water as the solvent. However, it is a significant challenge to utilize spider silks for practical applications due to their limited sources. Fortunately, genetic engineering techniques offer a promising approach to produce useable amounts of spider silk variants. Starting from these recombinant spider silk proteins, a series of experiments and simulations strategies are developed to improve the recombinant spider silk proteins (RSSP) material design and fabrication with the aim of biomimicking the structure-property-function relationships of spider silks. Accordingly, in this review, the authors first introduce the structure-property-function relationship of spider silks. Then, the recent progress in the genetic synthesis of RSSPs is discussed and their related multiscale self-assembly behaviors is summarized. Finally, the authors outline works utilizing multiscale modeling to assist RSSP material design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ke Zheng
- School of Physical Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, 201210, China
| | - Shengjie Ling
- School of Physical Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, 201210, China
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28
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Lölsberg J, Linkhorst J, Cinar A, Jans A, Kuehne AJC, Wessling M. 3D nanofabrication inside rapid prototyped microfluidic channels showcased by wet-spinning of single micrometre fibres. LAB ON A CHIP 2018; 18:1341-1348. [PMID: 29619449 DOI: 10.1039/c7lc01366c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Microfluidics is an established multidisciplinary research domain with widespread applications in the fields of medicine, biotechnology and engineering. Conventional production methods of microfluidic chips have been limited to planar structures, preventing the exploitation of truly three-dimensional architectures for applications such as multi-phase droplet preparation or wet-phase fibre spinning. Here the challenge of nanofabrication inside a microfluidic chip is tackled for the showcase of a spider-inspired spinneret. Multiphoton lithography, an additive manufacturing method, was used to produce free-form microfluidic masters, subsequently replicated by soft lithography. Into the resulting microfluidic device, a three-dimensional spider-inspired spinneret was directly fabricated in-chip via multiphoton lithography. Applying this unprecedented fabrication strategy, the to date smallest printed spinneret nozzle is produced. This spinneret resides tightly sealed, connecting it to the macroscopic world. Its functionality is demonstrated by wet-spinning of single-digit micron fibres through a polyacrylonitrile coagulation process induced by a water sheath layer. The methodology developed here demonstrates fabrication strategies to interface complex architectures into classical microfluidic platforms. Using multiphoton lithography for in-chip fabrication adopts a high spatial resolution technology for improving geometry and thus flow control inside microfluidic chips. The showcased fabrication methodology is generic and will be applicable to multiple challenges in fluid control and beyond.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonas Lölsberg
- DWI - Leibniz Institute for Interactive Materials, Forckenbeckstr. 50, 52074 Aachen, Germany
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29
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Tsuchiya K, Ishii T, Masunaga H, Numata K. Spider dragline silk composite films doped with linear and telechelic polyalanine: Effect of polyalanine on the structure and mechanical properties. Sci Rep 2018; 8:3654. [PMID: 29483536 PMCID: PMC5827030 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-21970-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2017] [Accepted: 02/13/2018] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Spider dragline silks have attracted intensive attention as eco-friendly tough materials because of their excellent mechanical property and biomass-based origin. Composite films based on a recombinant spider dragline silk protein (ADF3) from Araneus diadematus were prepared by doping with linear or telechelic poly(L-alanine) (L- or T-polyA, respectively) as a reinforcing agent. Higher tensile strength and toughness of the composite films were achieved with the addition of polyA compared with the tensile strength and toughness of the silk-only film. The difference in the reinforcing behavior between L- and T-polyA was associated with their primary structures, which were revealed by wide angle X-ray diffraction analysis. L-polyA showed a tendency to aggregate in the composite films and induce crystallization of the inherent silk β-sheet to afford rigid but brittle films. By contrast, T-polyA dispersion in the composite films led to the formation of β-sheet crystal of both T-polyA and the inherent silk, which imparted high strength and toughness to the silk films.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kousuke Tsuchiya
- Enzyme Research Team, RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako-shi, Saitama, 351-0198, Japan.
| | - Takaoki Ishii
- Enzyme Research Team, RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako-shi, Saitama, 351-0198, Japan
| | - Hiroyasu Masunaga
- Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute, 1-1-1, Kouto, Sayo-cho, Sayo-gun, Hyogo, 679-5198, Japan
| | - Keiji Numata
- Enzyme Research Team, RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako-shi, Saitama, 351-0198, Japan.
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30
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Otikovs M, Andersson M, Jia Q, Nordling K, Meng Q, Andreas LB, Pintacuda G, Johansson J, Rising A, Jaudzems K. Degree of Biomimicry of Artificial Spider Silk Spinning Assessed by NMR Spectroscopy. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2017; 56:12571-12575. [PMID: 28791761 DOI: 10.1002/anie.201706649] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2017] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
Biomimetic spinning of artificial spider silk requires that the terminal domains of designed minispidroins undergo specific structural changes in concert with the β-sheet conversion of the repetitive region. Herein, we combine solution and solid-state NMR methods to probe domain-specific structural changes in the NT2RepCT minispidroin, which allows us to assess the degree of biomimicry of artificial silk spinning. In addition, we show that the structural effects of post-spinning procedures can be examined. By studying the impact of NT2RepCT fiber drying, we observed a reversible beta-to-alpha conversion. We think that this approach will be useful for guiding the optimization of artificial spider silk fibers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martins Otikovs
- Latvian Institute of Organic Synthesis, Aizkraukles 21, 1006, Riga, Latvia
| | - Marlene Andersson
- Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Biochemistry, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Box 7011, 750 07, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Qiupin Jia
- Institute of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Donghua University, 201620, Shanghai, China
| | - Kerstin Nordling
- Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society (NVS), Center for Alzheimer Research, Karolinska Institutet, Novum, 141 57, Huddinge, Sweden
| | - Qing Meng
- Institute of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Donghua University, 201620, Shanghai, China
| | - Loren B Andreas
- Centre de RMN à Très Hauts Champs, Institut des Sciences Analytiques (UMR 5280-CNRS, ENS Lyon, UCB Lyon 1), Université de Lyon, 5 rue de la Doua, 69100, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Guido Pintacuda
- Centre de RMN à Très Hauts Champs, Institut des Sciences Analytiques (UMR 5280-CNRS, ENS Lyon, UCB Lyon 1), Université de Lyon, 5 rue de la Doua, 69100, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Jan Johansson
- Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society (NVS), Center for Alzheimer Research, Karolinska Institutet, Novum, 141 57, Huddinge, Sweden
| | - Anna Rising
- Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Biochemistry, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Box 7011, 750 07, Uppsala, Sweden.,Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society (NVS), Center for Alzheimer Research, Karolinska Institutet, Novum, 141 57, Huddinge, Sweden
| | - Kristaps Jaudzems
- Latvian Institute of Organic Synthesis, Aizkraukles 21, 1006, Riga, Latvia
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31
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Otikovs M, Andersson M, Jia Q, Nordling K, Meng Q, Andreas LB, Pintacuda G, Johansson J, Rising A, Jaudzems K. Degree of Biomimicry of Artificial Spider Silk Spinning Assessed by NMR Spectroscopy. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2017. [DOI: 10.1002/ange.201706649] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Martins Otikovs
- Latvian Institute of Organic Synthesis Aizkraukles 21 1006 Riga Latvia
| | - Marlene Andersson
- Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Biochemistry Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Box 7011 750 07 Uppsala Sweden
| | - Qiupin Jia
- Institute of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology Donghua University 201620 Shanghai China
| | - Kerstin Nordling
- Department of Neurobiology Care Sciences and Society (NVS) Center for Alzheimer Research Karolinska Institutet Novum 141 57 Huddinge Sweden
| | - Qing Meng
- Institute of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology Donghua University 201620 Shanghai China
| | - Loren B. Andreas
- Centre de RMN à Très Hauts Champs Institut des Sciences Analytiques (UMR 5280-CNRS, ENS Lyon, UCB Lyon 1) Université de Lyon 5 rue de la Doua 69100 Villeurbanne France
| | - Guido Pintacuda
- Centre de RMN à Très Hauts Champs Institut des Sciences Analytiques (UMR 5280-CNRS, ENS Lyon, UCB Lyon 1) Université de Lyon 5 rue de la Doua 69100 Villeurbanne France
| | - Jan Johansson
- Department of Neurobiology Care Sciences and Society (NVS) Center for Alzheimer Research Karolinska Institutet Novum 141 57 Huddinge Sweden
| | - Anna Rising
- Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Biochemistry Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Box 7011 750 07 Uppsala Sweden
- Department of Neurobiology Care Sciences and Society (NVS) Center for Alzheimer Research Karolinska Institutet Novum 141 57 Huddinge Sweden
| | - Kristaps Jaudzems
- Latvian Institute of Organic Synthesis Aizkraukles 21 1006 Riga Latvia
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32
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The Nephila clavipes genome highlights the diversity of spider silk genes and their complex expression. Nat Genet 2017; 49:895-903. [PMID: 28459453 DOI: 10.1038/ng.3852] [Citation(s) in RCA: 137] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2016] [Accepted: 03/29/2017] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Spider silks are the toughest known biological materials, yet are lightweight and virtually invisible to the human immune system, and they thus have revolutionary potential for medicine and industry. Spider silks are largely composed of spidroins, a unique family of structural proteins. To investigate spidroin genes systematically, we constructed the first genome of an orb-weaving spider: the golden orb-weaver (Nephila clavipes), which builds large webs using an extensive repertoire of silks with diverse physical properties. We cataloged 28 Nephila spidroins, representing all known orb-weaver spidroin types, and identified 394 repeated coding motif variants and higher-order repetitive cassette structures unique to specific spidroins. Characterization of spidroin expression in distinct silk gland types indicates that glands can express multiple spidroin types. We find evidence of an alternatively spliced spidroin, a spidroin expressed only in venom glands, evolutionary mechanisms for spidroin diversification, and non-spidroin genes with expression patterns that suggest roles in silk production.
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33
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Li X, Shi CH, Tang CL, Cai YM, Meng Q. The correlation between the length of repetitive domain and mechanical properties of the recombinant flagelliform spidroin. Biol Open 2017; 6:333-339. [PMID: 28126711 PMCID: PMC5374401 DOI: 10.1242/bio.022665] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Spider silk is an attractive biopolymer with numerous potential applications due to its remarkable characteristics. Among the six categories of spider silks, flagelliform (Flag) spider silk possesses longer and more repetitive core domains than others, therefore performing the highest extensibility. To investigate the correlation between the recombinant spidroin size and the synthetic fiber properties, four recombinant proteins with different sizes [N-Scn-C (n=1-4)] were constructed and expressed using IMPACT system. Subsequently, different recombinant spidroins were spun into fibers through wet-spinning via a custom-made continuous post-drawing device. Mechanical tests of the synthetic fibers with four parameters (maximum stress, maximum extension, Young's modulus and toughness) demonstrated that the extensibility of the fibers showed a positive correlation with spidroin size, consequently resulting in the extensibility of N-Sc4-C fiber ranked the highest (58.76%) among four fibers. Raman data revealed the relationship between secondary structure content and mechanical properties. The data here provide a deeper insight into the relationship between the function and structure of Flag silk for future design of artificial fibers. Summary: A study of the relationship between the structure and property of synthetic spider silk-like fibers, which aims to aid with the designing of functional artificial fibers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xue Li
- College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, People's Republic of China.,Institute of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, People's Republic of China
| | - Chang-Hua Shi
- College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, People's Republic of China
| | - Chuan-Long Tang
- Institute of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, People's Republic of China
| | - Yu-Ming Cai
- Institute of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, People's Republic of China
| | - Qing Meng
- College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, People's Republic of China .,Institute of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, People's Republic of China
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34
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Koeppel A, Holland C. Progress and Trends in Artificial Silk Spinning: A Systematic Review. ACS Biomater Sci Eng 2017; 3:226-237. [DOI: 10.1021/acsbiomaterials.6b00669] [Citation(s) in RCA: 140] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Andreas Koeppel
- Department of Materials
Science
and Engineering, University of Sheffield, Mappin Street, Sheffield S1 3JD, United Kingdom
| | - Chris Holland
- Department of Materials
Science
and Engineering, University of Sheffield, Mappin Street, Sheffield S1 3JD, United Kingdom
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35
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Biomimetic spinning of artificial spider silk from a chimeric minispidroin. Nat Chem Biol 2017; 13:262-264. [PMID: 28068309 DOI: 10.1038/nchembio.2269] [Citation(s) in RCA: 155] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2016] [Accepted: 10/25/2016] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Herein we present a chimeric recombinant spider silk protein (spidroin) whose aqueous solubility equals that of native spider silk dope and a spinning device that is based solely on aqueous buffers, shear forces and lowered pH. The process recapitulates the complex molecular mechanisms that dictate native spider silk spinning and is highly efficient; spidroin from one liter of bacterial shake-flask culture is enough to spin a kilometer of the hitherto toughest as-spun artificial spider silk fiber.
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36
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Abstract
Silk is a protein-based material which is predominantly produced by insects and spiders. Hundreds of millions of years of evolution have enabled these animals to utilize different, highly adapted silk types in a broad variety of applications. Silk occurs in several morphologies, such as sticky glue or in the shape of fibers and can, depending on the application by the respective animal, dissipate a high mechanical energy, resist heat and radiation, maintain functionality when submerged in water and withstand microbial settling. Hence, it's unsurprising that silk piqued human interest a long time ago, which catalyzed the domestication of silkworms for the production of silk to be used in textiles. Recently, scientific progress has enabled the development of analytic tools to gain profound insights into the characteristics of silk proteins. Based on these investigations, the biotechnological production of artificial and engineered silk has been accomplished, which allows the production of a sufficient amount of silk materials for several industrial applications. This chapter provides a review on the biotechnological production of various silk proteins from different species, as well as on the processing techniques to fabricate application-oriented material morphologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gregor Lang
- Research Group Biopolymer Processing, University of Bayreuth, Universitätsstr. 30, 95440, Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Heike Herold
- Department of Biomaterials, University of Bayreuth, Universitätsstr. 30, 95440, Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Thomas Scheibel
- Department of Biomaterials, University of Bayreuth, Universitätsstr. 30, 95440, Bayreuth, Germany.
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37
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Kametani S, Tasei Y, Nishimura A, Asakura T. Distinct solvent- and temperature-dependent packing arrangements of anti-parallel β-sheet polyalanines studied with solid-state 13C NMR and MD simulation. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2017; 19:20829-20838. [DOI: 10.1039/c7cp03693k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Change from rectangular arrangement to staggered arrangement of (Ala)6 by heat treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shunsuke Kametani
- Department of Biotechnology
- Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology
- Koganei
- Japan
- Mitsui Chemical Analysis & Consulting Service, Inc
| | - Yugo Tasei
- Department of Biotechnology
- Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology
- Koganei
- Japan
| | - Akio Nishimura
- Department of Biotechnology
- Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology
- Koganei
- Japan
| | - Tetsuo Asakura
- Department of Biotechnology
- Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology
- Koganei
- Japan
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38
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Jones JA, Harris TI, Oliveira PF, Bell BE, Alhabib A, Lewis RV. Importance of Heat and Pressure for Solubilization of Recombinant Spider Silk Proteins in Aqueous Solution. Int J Mol Sci 2016; 17:ijms17111955. [PMID: 27886066 PMCID: PMC5133949 DOI: 10.3390/ijms17111955] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2016] [Revised: 11/11/2016] [Accepted: 11/18/2016] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
The production of recombinant spider silk proteins continues to be a key area of interest for a number of research groups. Several key obstacles exist in their production as well as in their formulation into useable products. The original reported method to solubilize recombinant spider silk proteins (rSSp) in an aqueous solution involved using microwaves to quickly generate heat and pressure inside of a sealed vial containing rSSp and water. Fibers produced from this system are remarkable in their mechanical ability and demonstrate the ability to be stretched and recover 100 times. The microwave method dissolves the rSSPs with dissolution time increasing with higher molecular weight constructs, increasing concentration of rSSPs, protein type, and salt concentration. It has proven successful in solvating a number of different rSSPs including native-like sequences (MaSp1, MaSp2, piriform, and aggregate) as well as chimeric sequences (FlAS) in varied concentrations that have been spun into fibers and formed into films, foams, sponges, gels, coatings, macro and micro spheres and adhesives. The system is effective but inherently unpredictable and difficult to control. Provided that the materials that can be generated from this method of dissolution are impressive, an alternative means of applying heat and pressure that is controllable and predictable has been developed. Results indicate that there are combinations of heat and pressure (135 °C and 140 psi) that result in maximal dissolution without degrading the recombinant MaSp2 protein tested, and that heat and pressure are the key elements to the method of dissolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justin A Jones
- Department of Biology, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84341, USA.
| | - Thomas I Harris
- Department of Biological Engineering, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84341, USA.
| | - Paula F Oliveira
- Department of Biology, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84341, USA.
| | - Brianne E Bell
- Department of Biology, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84341, USA.
| | | | - Randolph V Lewis
- Department of Biology, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84341, USA.
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Muiznieks LD, Keeley FW. Biomechanical Design of Elastic Protein Biomaterials: A Balance of Protein Structure and Conformational Disorder. ACS Biomater Sci Eng 2016; 3:661-679. [DOI: 10.1021/acsbiomaterials.6b00469] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Lisa D. Muiznieks
- Molecular
Structure and Function Program, Research Institute, The Hospital for Sick Children, 686 Bay Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5G 0A4
| | - Fred W. Keeley
- Molecular
Structure and Function Program, Research Institute, The Hospital for Sick Children, 686 Bay Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5G 0A4
- Department
of Biochemistry and Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, 1 King’s College Circle, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 1A8
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40
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Atkison JH, Parnham S, Marcotte WR, Olsen SK. Crystal Structure of the Nephila clavipes Major Ampullate Spidroin 1A N-terminal Domain Reveals Plasticity at the Dimer Interface. J Biol Chem 2016; 291:19006-17. [PMID: 27445329 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m116.736710] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2016] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Spider dragline silk is a natural polymer harboring unique physical and biochemical properties that make it an ideal biomaterial. Artificial silk production requires an understanding of the in vivo mechanisms spiders use to convert soluble proteins, called spidroins, into insoluble fibers. Controlled dimerization of the spidroin N-terminal domain (NTD) is crucial to this process. Here, we report the crystal structure of the Nephila clavipes major ampullate spidroin NTD dimer. Comparison of our N. clavipes NTD structure with previously determined Euprosthenops australis NTD structures reveals subtle conformational alterations that lead to differences in how the subunits are arranged at the dimer interface. We observe a subset of contacts that are specific to each ortholog, as well as a substantial increase in asymmetry in the interactions observed at the N. clavipes NTD dimer interface. These asymmetric interactions include novel intermolecular salt bridges that provide new insights into the mechanism of NTD dimerization. We also observe a unique intramolecular "handshake" interaction between two conserved acidic residues that our data suggest adds an additional layer of complexity to the pH-sensitive relay mechanism for NTD dimerization. The results of a panel of tryptophan fluorescence dimerization assays probing the importance of these interactions support our structural observations. Based on our findings, we propose that conformational selectivity and plasticity at the NTD dimer interface play a role in the pH-dependent transition of the NTD from monomer to stably associated dimer as the spidroin progresses through the silk extrusion duct.
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Affiliation(s)
- James H Atkison
- From the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina 29425 and
| | - Stuart Parnham
- From the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina 29425 and
| | - William R Marcotte
- the Department of Genetics and Biochemistry, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina 29634
| | - Shaun K Olsen
- From the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina 29425 and
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41
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Weatherbee-Martin N, Xu L, Hupe A, Kreplak L, Fudge DS, Liu XQ, Rainey JK. Identification of Wet-Spinning and Post-Spin Stretching Methods Amenable to Recombinant Spider Aciniform Silk. Biomacromolecules 2016; 17:2737-46. [PMID: 27387592 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biomac.6b00857] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Spider silks are outstanding biomaterials with mechanical properties that outperform synthetic materials. Of the six fibrillar spider silks, aciniform (or wrapping) silk is the toughest through a unique combination of strength and extensibility. In this study, a wet-spinning method for recombinant Argiope trifasciata aciniform spidroin (AcSp1) is introduced. Recombinant AcSp1 comprising three 200 amino acid repeat units was solubilized in a 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoro-2-propanol (HFIP)/water mixture, forming a viscous α-helix-enriched spinning dope, and wet-spun into an ethanol/water coagulation bath allowing continuous fiber production. Post-spin stretching of the resulting wet-spun fibers in water significantly improved fiber strength, enriched β-sheet conformation without complete α-helix depletion, and enhanced birefringence. These methods allow reproducible aciniform silk fiber formation, albeit with lower extensibility than native silk, requiring conditions and methods distinct from those previously reported for other silk proteins. This provides an essential starting point for tailoring wet-spinning of aciniform silk to achieve desired properties.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Andre Hupe
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph , Guelph, Ontario N1G 2W1, Canada
| | | | - Douglas S Fudge
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph , Guelph, Ontario N1G 2W1, Canada
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42
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Loo Y, Goktas M, Tekinay AB, Guler MO, Hauser CAE, Mitraki A. Self-Assembled Proteins and Peptides as Scaffolds for Tissue Regeneration. Adv Healthc Mater 2015; 4:2557-86. [PMID: 26461979 DOI: 10.1002/adhm.201500402] [Citation(s) in RCA: 87] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2015] [Revised: 07/24/2015] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Self-assembling proteins and peptides are increasingly gaining interest for potential use as scaffolds in tissue engineering applications. They self-organize from basic building blocks under mild conditions into supramolecular structures, mimicking the native extracellular matrix. Their properties can be easily tuned through changes at the sequence level. Moreover, they can be produced in sufficient quantities with chemical synthesis or recombinant technologies to allow them to address homogeneity and standardization issues required for applications. Here. recent advances in self-assembling proteins, peptides, and peptide amphiphiles that form scaffolds suitable for tissue engineering are reviewed. The focus is on a variety of motifs, ranging from minimalistic dipeptides, simplistic ultrashort aliphatic peptides, and peptide amphiphiles to large "recombinamer" proteins. Special emphasis is placed on the rational design of self-assembling motifs and biofunctionalization strategies to influence cell behavior and modulate scaffold stability. Perspectives for combination of these "bottom-up" designer strategies with traditional "top-down" biofabrication techniques for new generations of tissue engineering scaffolds are highlighted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yihua Loo
- Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology; A* STAR; 31 Biopolis Way The Nanos 138669 Singapore
| | - Melis Goktas
- Institute of Materials Science and Nanotechnology; National Nanotechnology Research Center (UNAM); Bilkent University; Ankara Turkey 06800
| | - Ayse B. Tekinay
- Institute of Materials Science and Nanotechnology; National Nanotechnology Research Center (UNAM); Bilkent University; Ankara Turkey 06800
| | - Mustafa O. Guler
- Institute of Materials Science and Nanotechnology; National Nanotechnology Research Center (UNAM); Bilkent University; Ankara Turkey 06800
| | - Charlotte A. E. Hauser
- Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology; A* STAR; 31 Biopolis Way The Nanos 138669 Singapore
| | - Anna Mitraki
- Department of Materials Science and Technology; University of Crete; Greece 70013
- Institute for Electronic Structure and Lasers (IESL); Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas (FORTH); Vassilika Vouton; Heraklion Crete Greece 70013
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43
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To spin or not to spin: spider silk fibers and more. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2015; 99:9361-80. [DOI: 10.1007/s00253-015-6948-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2015] [Revised: 08/16/2015] [Accepted: 08/20/2015] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
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44
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Copeland CG, Bell BE, Christensen CD, Lewis RV. Development of a Process for the Spinning of Synthetic Spider Silk. ACS Biomater Sci Eng 2015; 1:577-584. [PMID: 27064312 DOI: 10.1021/acsbiomaterials.5b00092] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Spider silks have unique mechanical properties but current efforts to duplicate those properties with recombinant proteins have been unsuccessful. This study was designed to develop a single process to spin fibers with excellent and consistent mechanical properties. As-spun fibers produced were brittle, but by stretching the fibers the mechanical properties were greatly improved. A water-dip or water-stretch further increased the strength and elongation of the synthetic spider silk fibers. Given the promising results of the water stretch, a mechanical double-stretch system was developed. Both a methanol/water mixture and an isopropanol/water mixture were independently used to stretch the fibers with this system. It was found that the methanol mixture produced fibers with high tensile strength while the isopropanol mixture produced fibers with high elongation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cameron G Copeland
- Department of Biological Engineering and Synthetic Biomanufacturing Center, Utah State University, 650 East 1600 North, Logan, Utah 84341, United States
| | - Brianne E Bell
- Department of Biological Engineering and Synthetic Biomanufacturing Center, Utah State University, 650 East 1600 North, Logan, Utah 84341, United States
| | - Chad D Christensen
- Department of Biological Engineering and Synthetic Biomanufacturing Center, Utah State University, 650 East 1600 North, Logan, Utah 84341, United States
| | - Randolph V Lewis
- Department of Biological Engineering and Synthetic Biomanufacturing Center, Utah State University, 650 East 1600 North, Logan, Utah 84341, United States
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45
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An B, Tang-Schomer M, Huang W, He J, Jones J, Lewis RV, Kaplan DL. Physical and biological regulation of neuron regenerative growth and network formation on recombinant dragline silks. Biomaterials 2015; 48:137-146. [PMID: 25701039 DOI: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2015.01.044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2014] [Revised: 01/07/2015] [Accepted: 01/20/2015] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Recombinant spider silks produced in transgenic goat milk were studied as cell culture matrices for neuronal growth. Major ampullate spidroin 1 (MaSp1) supported neuronal growth, axon extension and network connectivity, with cell morphology comparable to the gold standard poly-lysine. In addition, neurons growing on MaSp1 films had increased neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) expression at both mRNA and protein levels. The results indicate that MaSp1 films present useful surface charge and substrate stiffness to support the growth of primary rat cortical neurons. Moreover, a putative neuron-specific surface binding sequence GRGGL within MaSp1 may contribute to the biological regulation of neuron growth. These findings indicate that MaSp1 could regulate neuron growth through its physical and biological features. This dual regulation mode of MaSp1 could provide an alternative strategy for generating functional silk materials for neural tissue engineering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bo An
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155
| | - Min Tang-Schomer
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155
| | - Wenwen Huang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155
| | - Jiuyang He
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155
| | - Justin Jones
- Department of Biology, Synthetic Biomanufacturing Center, Utah State University, Logan, Utah 84322
| | - Randolph V Lewis
- Department of Biology, Synthetic Biomanufacturing Center, Utah State University, Logan, Utah 84322
| | - David L Kaplan
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155
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46
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Desai MS, Lee SW. Protein-based functional nanomaterial design for bioengineering applications. WILEY INTERDISCIPLINARY REVIEWS-NANOMEDICINE AND NANOBIOTECHNOLOGY 2014; 7:69-97. [DOI: 10.1002/wnan.1303] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2014] [Revised: 08/12/2014] [Accepted: 09/02/2014] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Malav S. Desai
- Department of Bioengineering; University of California, Berkeley; Berkeley CA USA
- Physical Biosciences Division; Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; Berkeley CA USA
| | - Seung-Wuk Lee
- Department of Bioengineering; University of California, Berkeley; Berkeley CA USA
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47
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Whittaker J, Balu R, Choudhury NR, Dutta NK. Biomimetic protein-based elastomeric hydrogels for biomedical applications. POLYM INT 2014. [DOI: 10.1002/pi.4670] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jasmin Whittaker
- Ian Wark Research Institute, Mawson Lakes Campus; University of South Australia; Mawson Lakes Adelaide SA 5095 Australia
| | - Rajkamal Balu
- Ian Wark Research Institute, Mawson Lakes Campus; University of South Australia; Mawson Lakes Adelaide SA 5095 Australia
| | - Namita R. Choudhury
- Ian Wark Research Institute, Mawson Lakes Campus; University of South Australia; Mawson Lakes Adelaide SA 5095 Australia
| | - Naba K. Dutta
- Ian Wark Research Institute, Mawson Lakes Campus; University of South Australia; Mawson Lakes Adelaide SA 5095 Australia
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48
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Hinman MB, Teulé F, Perry D, An B, Adrianos S, Albertson A, Lewis R. Modular Spider Silk Fibers: Defining New Modules and Optimizing Fiber Properties. BIOTECHNOLOGY OF SILK 2014. [DOI: 10.1007/978-94-007-7119-2_8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
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49
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Perea GB, Riekel C, Guinea GV, Madurga R, Daza R, Burghammer M, Hayashi C, Elices M, Plaza GR, Pérez-Rigueiro J. Identification and dynamics of polyglycine II nanocrystals in Argiope trifasciata flagelliform silk. Sci Rep 2013; 3:3061. [PMID: 24162473 PMCID: PMC3808813 DOI: 10.1038/srep03061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2013] [Accepted: 10/11/2013] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Spider silks combine a significant number of desirable characteristics in one material, including large tensile strength and strain at breaking, biocompatibility, and the possibility of tailoring their properties. Major ampullate gland silk (MAS) is the most studied silk and their properties are explained by a double lattice of hydrogen bonds and elastomeric protein chains linked to polyalanine β-nanocrystals. However, many basic details regarding the relationship between composition, microstructure and properties in silks are still lacking. Here we show that this relationship can be traced in flagelliform silk (Flag) spun by Argiope trifasciata spiders after identifying a phase consisting of polyglycine II nanocrystals. The presence of this phase is consistent with the dominant presence of the -GGX- and -GPG- motifs in its sequence. In contrast to the passive role assigned to polyalanine nanocrystals in MAS, polyglycine II nanocrystals can undergo growing/collapse processes that contribute to increase toughness and justify the ability of Flag to supercontract.
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Affiliation(s)
- G. B. Perea
- Centro de Tecnología Biomédica. Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. 28223 Pozuelo de Alarcón (Madrid). Spain
- Departamento de Ciencia de Materiales. ETSI Caminos, Canales y Puertos. Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. 28040. Madrid. Spain
| | - C. Riekel
- European Synchroton Radiation Facility. B.P. 220, F-38043, Grenoble Cedex, France
| | - G. V. Guinea
- Centro de Tecnología Biomédica. Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. 28223 Pozuelo de Alarcón (Madrid). Spain
- Departamento de Ciencia de Materiales. ETSI Caminos, Canales y Puertos. Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. 28040. Madrid. Spain
| | - R. Madurga
- Centro de Tecnología Biomédica. Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. 28223 Pozuelo de Alarcón (Madrid). Spain
- Departamento de Ciencia de Materiales. ETSI Caminos, Canales y Puertos. Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. 28040. Madrid. Spain
| | - R. Daza
- Centro de Tecnología Biomédica. Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. 28223 Pozuelo de Alarcón (Madrid). Spain
- Departamento de Ciencia de Materiales. ETSI Caminos, Canales y Puertos. Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. 28040. Madrid. Spain
| | - M. Burghammer
- European Synchroton Radiation Facility. B.P. 220, F-38043, Grenoble Cedex, France
| | - C. Hayashi
- Department of Biology. University of California, Riverside. CA 92521. USA
| | - M. Elices
- Centro de Tecnología Biomédica. Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. 28223 Pozuelo de Alarcón (Madrid). Spain
- Departamento de Ciencia de Materiales. ETSI Caminos, Canales y Puertos. Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. 28040. Madrid. Spain
| | - G. R. Plaza
- Centro de Tecnología Biomédica. Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. 28223 Pozuelo de Alarcón (Madrid). Spain
- Departamento de Ciencia de Materiales. ETSI Caminos, Canales y Puertos. Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. 28040. Madrid. Spain
| | - J. Pérez-Rigueiro
- Centro de Tecnología Biomédica. Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. 28223 Pozuelo de Alarcón (Madrid). Spain
- Departamento de Ciencia de Materiales. ETSI Caminos, Canales y Puertos. Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. 28040. Madrid. Spain
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50
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Albertson AE, Teulé F, Weber W, Yarger JL, Lewis RV. Effects of different post-spin stretching conditions on the mechanical properties of synthetic spider silk fibers. J Mech Behav Biomed Mater 2013; 29:225-34. [PMID: 24113297 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmbbm.2013.09.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2013] [Revised: 08/27/2013] [Accepted: 09/01/2013] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
Spider silk is a biomaterial with impressive mechanical properties, resulting in various potential applications. Recent research has focused on producing synthetic spider silk fibers with the same mechanical properties as the native fibers. For this study, three proteins based on the Argiope aurantia Major ampullate Spidroin 2 consensus repeat sequence were expressed, purified and spun into fibers. A number of post-spin draw conditions were tested to determine the effect of each condition on the mechanical properties of the fiber. In all cases, post-spin stretching improved the mechanical properties of the fibers. Aqueous isopropanol was the most effective solution for increasing extensibility, while other solutions worked best for each fiber type for increasing tensile strength. The strain values of the stretched fibers correlated with the length of the proline-rich protein sequence. Structural analysis, including X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy, showed surprisingly little change in the initial as-spun fibers compared with the post-spin stretched fibers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amy E Albertson
- Department of Molecular Biology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82071, USA.
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