1
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Tan G, Jia T, Qi Z, Lu S. Regenerated Fiber's Ideal Target: Comparable to Natural Fiber. MATERIALS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2024; 17:1834. [PMID: 38673192 PMCID: PMC11050933 DOI: 10.3390/ma17081834] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2024] [Revised: 04/12/2024] [Accepted: 04/13/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024]
Abstract
The toughness of silk naturally obtained from spiders and silkworms exceeds that of all other natural and man-made fibers. These insects transform aqueous protein feedstocks into mechanically specialized materials, which represents an engineering phenomenon that has developed over millions of years of natural evolution. Silkworms have become a new research hotspot due to the difficulties in collecting spider silk and other challenges. According to continuous research on the natural spinning process of the silkworm, it is possible to divide the main aspects of bionic spinning into two main segments: the solvent and behavior. This work focuses on the various methods currently used for the spinning of artificial silk fibers to replicate natural silk fibers, providing new insights based on changes in the fiber properties and production processes over time.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Shenzhou Lu
- National Engineering Laboratory for Modern Silk, College of Textile and Clothing Engineering, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China; (G.T.); (T.J.); (Z.Q.)
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2
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Long D, Liu R, Huang Y, Fu A, Zhang Y, Hao Z, Li Q, Xu H, Xiang Z, Zhao A. An efficient and safe strategy for germ cell-specific automatic excision of foreign DNA in F 1 hybrid transgenic silkworms. INSECT SCIENCE 2024; 31:28-46. [PMID: 37356084 DOI: 10.1111/1744-7917.13219] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2023] [Revised: 05/09/2023] [Accepted: 05/11/2023] [Indexed: 06/27/2023]
Abstract
The safety of transgenic technology is a major obstacle in the popularization and use of transgenic silkworms and their products. In sericulture, only the first filial generation (F1 ) hybrid eggs produced by cross-breeding Japanese and Chinese original strains are usually used for the large-scale breeding of silkworms, but this may result in uncontrolled transgene dispersal during the popularization and application of the F1 hybrid transgenic eggs. To address this issue, we developed a safe and efficient strategy using the GAL4/Upstream activating sequence (UAS) system, the FLP/flippase recognition target (FRT) system, and the gonad-specific expression gene promoters (RSHP1p and Nanosp) for the germ cell-specific automatic excision of foreign DNA in the F1 hybrid transgenic silkworms. We established 2 types of activator strains, R1p::GAL4-Gr and Nsp::GAL4-Gr, containing the testis-specific GAL4 gene expression cassettes driven by RSHP1p or Nanosp, respectively, and 1 type of effector strain, UAS::FLP-Rg, containing the UAS-linked FLP gene expression cassette. The FLP recombinase-mediated sperm-specific complete excision of FRT-flanked target DNA in the F1 double-transgenic silkworms resulting from the hybridization of R1p::GAL4-Gr and UAS::FLP-Rg was 100%, whereas the complete excision efficiency resulting from the hybridization of Nsp::GAL4-Gr and UAS::FLP-Rg ranged from 13.73% to 80.3%. Additionally, we identified a gene, sw11114, that is expressed in both testis and ovary of Bombyx mori, and can be used to establish novel gonad-specific expression systems in transgenic silkworms. This strategy has the potential to fundamentally solve the safety issue in the production of F1 transgenic silkworm eggs and provides an important reference for the safety of transgenic technology in other insect species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dingpei Long
- State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Institute of Sericulture and Systems Biology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Rongpeng Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Institute of Sericulture and Systems Biology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Yang Huang
- Department of Biology, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Anyao Fu
- State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Institute of Sericulture and Systems Biology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Yuli Zhang
- Guangxi Institute of Sericulture Science, Nanning, Guangxi, China
| | - Zhanzhang Hao
- State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Institute of Sericulture and Systems Biology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Qiang Li
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Hanfu Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Institute of Sericulture and Systems Biology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Zhonghuai Xiang
- State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Institute of Sericulture and Systems Biology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Aichun Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Institute of Sericulture and Systems Biology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
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3
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Thagun C, Suzuki T, Kodama Y, Numata K. C-Terminal Domain Controls Protein Quality and Secretion of Spider Silk in Tobacco Cells. Adv Biol (Weinh) 2023; 7:e2300011. [PMID: 37409415 DOI: 10.1002/adbi.202300011] [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] [Received: 01/10/2023] [Revised: 05/15/2023] [Indexed: 07/07/2023]
Abstract
The remarkable mechanical strength and extensibility of spider dragline silk spidroins are attributed to the major ampullate silk proteins (MaSp). Although fragmented MaSp molecules have been extensively produced in various heterologous expression platforms for biotechnological applications, complete MaSp molecules are required to achieve instinctive spinning of spidroin fibers from aqueous solutions. Here, a plant cell-based expression platform for extracellular production of the entire MaSp2 protein is developed, which exhibits remarkable self-assembly properties to form spider silk nanofibrils. The engineered transgenic Bright-yellow 2 (BY-2) cell lines overexpressing recombinant secretory MaSp2 proteins yield 0.6-1.3 µg L-1 at 22 days post-inoculation, which is four times higher than those of cytosolic expressions. However, only 10-15% of these secretory MaSp2 proteins are discharged into the culture media. Surprisingly, expression of functional domain-truncated MaSp2 proteins lacking the C-terminal domain in transgenic BY-2 cells increases recombinant protein secretion incredibly, from 0.9 to 2.8 mg L-1 per day within 7 days. These findings demonstrate significant improvement in the extracellular production of recombinant biopolymers such as spider silk spidroins using plant cells. In addition, the results reveal the regulatory roles of the C-terminal domain of MaSp2 proteins in controlling their protein quality and secretion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chonprakun Thagun
- Department of Material Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University, Kyoto-Daigaku-Katsura, Nishikyo-ku, Kyoto, 615-8510, Japan
- Center for Bioscience Research and Education, Utsunomiya University, Tochigi, 321-8505, Japan
| | - Tomohiro Suzuki
- Center for Bioscience Research and Education, Utsunomiya University, Tochigi, 321-8505, Japan
| | - Yutaka Kodama
- Center for Bioscience Research and Education, Utsunomiya University, Tochigi, 321-8505, Japan
- Biomacromolecules Research Team, RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako-shi, Saitama, 351-0198, Japan
| | - Keiji Numata
- Department of Material Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University, Kyoto-Daigaku-Katsura, Nishikyo-ku, Kyoto, 615-8510, Japan
- Biomacromolecules Research Team, RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako-shi, Saitama, 351-0198, Japan
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4
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Heckenhauer J, Stewart RJ, Ríos-Touma B, Powell A, Dorji T, Frandsen PB, Pauls SU. Characterization of the primary structure of the major silk gene, h-fibroin, across caddisfly (Trichoptera) suborders. iScience 2023; 26:107253. [PMID: 37529107 PMCID: PMC10387566 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.107253] [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] [Received: 02/06/2023] [Revised: 04/05/2023] [Accepted: 06/27/2023] [Indexed: 08/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Larvae of caddisflies (Trichoptera) produce silk to build various underwater structures allowing them to exploit a wide range of aquatic environments. The silk adheres to various substrates underwater and has high tensile strength, extensibility, and toughness and is of interest as a model for biomimetic adhesives. As a step toward understanding how the properties of underwater silk evolved in Trichoptera, we used genomic data to identify full-length sequences and characterize the primary structure of the major silk protein, h-fibroin, across the order. The h-fibroins have conserved termini and basic motif structure with high variation in repeating modules and variation in the percentage of amino acids, mainly proline. This finding might be linked to differences in mechanical properties related to the different silk usage and sets a starting point for future studies to screen and correlate amino acid motifs and other sequence features with quantifiable silk properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacqueline Heckenhauer
- LOEWE Centre for Translational Biodiversity Genomics (LOEWE-TBG), Frankfurt, Hesse 60325, Germany
- Department of Terrestrial Zoology, Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Hesse 60325, Germany
| | - Russell J. Stewart
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
| | - Blanca Ríos-Touma
- Facultad de Ingenierías y Ciencias Aplicadas, Ingeniería Ambiental, Grupo de Investigación en Biodiversidad, Medio Ambiente y Salud (BIOMAS), Universidad de Las Américas, Quito, EC 170124, Ecuador
| | - Ashlyn Powell
- Department of Plant and Wildlife Science, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA
| | - Tshering Dorji
- Department of Environment and Climate Studies, Royal University of Bhutan, Punakha 13001, Bhutan
| | - Paul B. Frandsen
- LOEWE Centre for Translational Biodiversity Genomics (LOEWE-TBG), Frankfurt, Hesse 60325, Germany
- Department of Plant and Wildlife Science, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA
- Data Science Lab, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560, USA
| | - Steffen U. Pauls
- LOEWE Centre for Translational Biodiversity Genomics (LOEWE-TBG), Frankfurt, Hesse 60325, Germany
- Department of Terrestrial Zoology, Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Hesse 60325, Germany
- Institute for Insect Biotechnology, Justus-Liebig-University, Gießen, Hesse 35392; Germany
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5
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Rizzo G, Petrelli V, Sibillano T, De Caro L, Giangregorio MM, Lo Presti M, Omenetto FG, Giannini C, Mastrorilli P, Farinola GM. Raman, WAXS, and Solid-State NMR Characterizations of Regenerated Silk Fibroin Using Lanthanide Ions as Chaotropic Agents. ACS OMEGA 2023; 8:24165-24175. [PMID: 37457447 PMCID: PMC10339335 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.2c07149] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2022] [Accepted: 04/12/2023] [Indexed: 07/18/2023]
Abstract
Bombyx mori silk fibroin (SF) has been reported as a convenient natural material for regenerative medicine, optoelectronics, and many other technological applications. SF owes its unique features to the hierarchical organization of the fibers. Many efforts have been made to set up protocols for dissolution since many applications of SF are based on regenerated solutions and fibers, but chaotropic conditions required to disassemble the packing of the polymer afford solutions with poor crystalline behavior. Our previous research has disclosed a dissolution and regeneration process of highly crystalline fibers involving lanthanide ions as chaotropic agents, demonstrating that each lanthanide has its own unique interaction with SF. Herein, we report elucidation of the structure of Ln-SF fibers by the combined use of Raman spectroscopy, wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS), and solid-state NMR techniques. Raman spectra confirmed the coordination of metal ions to SF, WAXS results highlighted the crystalline content of fibers, and solid-state NMR enabled the assessment of different ratios of secondary structures in the protein.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giorgio Rizzo
- Dipartimento
di Chimica, Università degli Studi
di Bari Aldo Moro, via Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, Italy
| | | | - Teresa Sibillano
- CNR
IC−Institute of Crystallography, via Amendola 122/O, Bari 70126, Italy
| | - Liberato De Caro
- CNR
IC−Institute of Crystallography, via Amendola 122/O, Bari 70126, Italy
| | - Maria Michela Giangregorio
- Institute
of Nanotechnology, CNR NANOTEC, c/o, Dipartimento di Chimica, Università di Bari, via Orabona 4, 70126 Bari, Italy
| | - Marco Lo Presti
- Silklab,
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tufts
University, 200 Boston Avenue, Suite 4875, Medford, Massachusetts 02155, United States
| | - Fiorenzo G. Omenetto
- Silklab,
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tufts
University, 200 Boston Avenue, Suite 4875, Medford, Massachusetts 02155, United States
| | - Cinzia Giannini
- CNR
IC−Institute of Crystallography, via Amendola 122/O, Bari 70126, Italy
| | | | - Gianluca M. Farinola
- Dipartimento
di Chimica, Università degli Studi
di Bari Aldo Moro, via Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, Italy
- Silklab,
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tufts
University, 200 Boston Avenue, Suite 4875, Medford, Massachusetts 02155, United States
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6
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Comparison of Silks from Pseudoips prasinana and Bombyx mori Shows Molecular Convergence in Fibroin Heavy Chains but Large Differences in Other Silk Components. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms22158246. [PMID: 34361011 PMCID: PMC8347419 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22158246] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2021] [Revised: 07/09/2021] [Accepted: 07/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Many lepidopteran larvae produce silk feeding shelters and cocoons to protect themselves and the developing pupa. As caterpillars evolved, the quality of the silk, shape of the cocoon, and techniques in forming and leaving the cocoon underwent a number of changes. The silk of Pseudoips prasinana has previously been studied using X-ray analysis and classified in the same category as that of Bombyx mori, suggesting that silks of both species have similar properties despite their considerable phylogenetic distance. In the present study, we examined P. prasinana silk using 'omics' technology, including silk gland RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) and a mass spectrometry-based proteomic analysis of cocoon proteins. We found that although the central repetitive amino acid sequences encoding crystalline domains of fibroin heavy chain molecules are almost identical in both species, the resulting fibers exhibit quite different mechanical properties. Our results suggest that these differences are most probably due to the higher content of fibrohexamerin and fibrohexamerin-like molecules in P. prasinana silk. Furthermore, we show that whilst P. prasinana cocoons are predominantly made of silk similar to that of other Lepidoptera, they also contain a second, minor silk type, which is present only at the escape valve.
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7
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Wan Q, Yang M, Hu J, Lei F, Shuai Y, Wang J, Holland C, Rodenburg C, Yang M. Mesoscale structure development reveals when a silkworm silk is spun. Nat Commun 2021; 12:3711. [PMID: 34140492 PMCID: PMC8211695 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-23960-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2020] [Accepted: 04/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Silk fibre mechanical properties are attributed to the development of a multi-scale hierarchical structure during spinning. By careful ex vivo processing of a B. mori silkworm silk solution we arrest the spinning process, freezing-in mesoscale structures corresponding to three distinctive structure development stages; gelation, fibrilization and the consolidation phase identified in this work, a process highlighted by the emergence and extinction of 'water pockets'. These transient water pockets are a manifestation of the interplay between protein dehydration, phase separation and nanofibril assembly, with their removal due to nanofibril coalescence during consolidation. We modeled and validated how post-draw improves mechanical properties and refines a silk's hierarchical structure as a result of consolidation. These insights enable a better understanding of the sequence of events that occur during spinning, ultimately leading us to propose a robust definition of when a silkworm silk is actually 'spun'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Quan Wan
- College of Animal Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Mei Yang
- College of Animal Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Jiaqi Hu
- College of Animal Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Fang Lei
- College of Animal Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Yajun Shuai
- College of Animal Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Jie Wang
- College of Animal Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Chris Holland
- Department of Material Science and Engineering, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK.
| | - Cornelia Rodenburg
- Department of Material Science and Engineering, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK.
| | - Mingying Yang
- College of Animal Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
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8
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Structures of human dual oxidase 1 complex in low-calcium and high-calcium states. Nat Commun 2021; 12:155. [PMID: 33420071 PMCID: PMC7794343 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-20466-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2020] [Accepted: 12/02/2020] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Dual oxidases (DUOXs) produce hydrogen peroxide by transferring electrons from intracellular NADPH to extracellular oxygen. They are involved in many crucial biological processes and human diseases, especially in thyroid diseases. DUOXs are protein complexes co-assembled from the catalytic DUOX subunits and the auxiliary DUOXA subunits and their activities are regulated by intracellular calcium concentrations. Here, we report the cryo-EM structures of human DUOX1-DUOXA1 complex in both high-calcium and low-calcium states. These structures reveal the DUOX1 complex is a symmetric 2:2 hetero-tetramer stabilized by extensive inter-subunit interactions. Substrate NADPH and cofactor FAD are sandwiched between transmembrane domain and the cytosolic dehydrogenase domain of DUOX. In the presence of calcium ions, intracellular EF-hand modules might enhance the catalytic activity of DUOX by stabilizing the dehydrogenase domain in a conformation that allows electron transfer.
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9
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New insight into the mechanism of in vivo fibroin self-assembly and secretion in the silkworm, Bombyx mori. Int J Biol Macromol 2020; 169:473-479. [PMID: 33358779 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2020.12.132] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2020] [Revised: 12/02/2020] [Accepted: 12/16/2020] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Fibroin of the silkworm consists of fibroin heavy chain (Fib-H) with hydrophobic intermediate repeats flanked by hydrophilic N and C terminal domains (NTD and CTD, respectively), fibroin light chain (Fib-L), and P25. However, the respective roles of each polypeptide in silk processing remain largely unknown. Here, a series of transgenic silkworms with different fusion gene expression cassettes were created in order to selectively express different fluorescent fusion proteins in silk glands. The roles of different components in silk processing were investigated via observing and analyzing the movement and distribution of these proteins in the silk gland and in cocoon silk. The data showed that hydrophilic NTDs were distributed on the surface of micelles, providing sufficient electrostatic repulsion to prevent premature crystallization of silk proteins. Hydrophilic CTD==Ls ("==" represents the disulfide bond) were located on the inner layer of micelles to control the solubility of large micelles. The results presented here elucidated the underlying mechanisms of silkworm silk processing in vivo. This is significant for the development of artificial spinning technology, novel silk biomaterials, and silk gland expression systems.
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10
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Long D, Xiao B, Merlin D. Genetically modified silk fibroin nanoparticles for drug delivery: preparation strategies and application prospects. Nanomedicine (Lond) 2020; 15:1739-1742. [DOI: 10.2217/nnm-2020-0182] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Dingpei Long
- Institute for Biomedical Sciences, Center for Diagnostics & Therapeutics, Digestive Disease Research Group, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30302, USA
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, Key Laboratory for Sericulture Functional Genomics & Biotechnology of Agricultural Ministry, Southwest University, Beibei, Chongqing, 400716, PR China
| | - Bo Xiao
- Institute for Biomedical Sciences, Center for Diagnostics & Therapeutics, Digestive Disease Research Group, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30302, USA
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, Key Laboratory for Sericulture Functional Genomics & Biotechnology of Agricultural Ministry, Southwest University, Beibei, Chongqing, 400716, PR China
| | - Didier Merlin
- Institute for Biomedical Sciences, Center for Diagnostics & Therapeutics, Digestive Disease Research Group, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30302, USA
- Atlanta Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Decatur, GA 30033, USA
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11
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Zhang K, Li C, Weng X, Su J, Shen L, Pan G, Long D, Zhao A, Cui H. Transgenic characterization of two silkworm tissue-specific promoters in the haemocyte plasmatocyte cells. INSECT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2018; 27:133-142. [PMID: 29131435 DOI: 10.1111/imb.12360] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Haemocytes play crucial roles in insect metabolism, metamorphosis, and innate immunity. As a model of lepidopteran insects, the silkworm is a useful model to study the functions of both haematopoiesis and haemocytes. Tissue-specific promoters are excellent tools for genetic manipulation and are widely used in fundamental biological research. Herein, two haemocyte-specific genes, Integrin β2 and Integrin β3, were confirmed. Promoter activities of Integrin β2 and Integrin β3 were evaluated by genetic manipulation. Quantitative real-time PCR and western blotting suggested that both promoters can drive enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) specifically expressed in haemocytes. Further evidence clearly demonstrated that the transgenic silkworm exhibited a high level of EGFP signal in plasmatocytes, but not in other detected haemocyte types. Moreover, EGFP fluorescence signals were observed in the haematopoietic organ of both transgenic strains. Thus, two promoters that enable plasmatocytes to express genes of interest were confirmed in our study. It is expected that the results of this study will facilitate advances in our understanding of insect haematopoiesis and immunity in the silkworm, Bombyx mori.
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Affiliation(s)
- K Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, The Institute of Sericulture and Systems Biology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - C Li
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, The Institute of Sericulture and Systems Biology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - X Weng
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, The Institute of Sericulture and Systems Biology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
- College of Biotechnology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - J Su
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, The Institute of Sericulture and Systems Biology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - L Shen
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, The Institute of Sericulture and Systems Biology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - G Pan
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, The Institute of Sericulture and Systems Biology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - D Long
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, The Institute of Sericulture and Systems Biology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - A Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, The Institute of Sericulture and Systems Biology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - H Cui
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, The Institute of Sericulture and Systems Biology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
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12
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Cui Y, Zhu Y, Lin Y, Chen L, Feng Q, Wang W, Xiang H. New insight into the mechanism underlying the silk gland biological process by knocking out fibroin heavy chain in the silkworm. BMC Genomics 2018; 19:215. [PMID: 29580211 PMCID: PMC5870212 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-018-4602-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2017] [Accepted: 03/13/2018] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Exploring whether and how mutation of silk protein contributes to subsequent re-allocation of nitrogen, and impacts on the timing of silk gland degradation, is important to understand silk gland biology. Rapid development and wide application of genome editing approach in the silkworm provide us an opportunity to address these issues. RESULTS Using CRISPR/Cas9 system, we successfully performed genome editing of Bmfib-H. The loss-of-function mutations caused naked pupa and thin cocoon mutant phenotypes. Compared with the wild type, the posterior silk gland of mutant showed obviously degraded into fragments in advance of programmed cell death of silk gland cells. Comparative transcriptomic analyses of silk gland at the fourth day of the fifth instar larval stage(L5D4)identified 1456 differential expressed genes (DEGs) between posterior silk gland (PSG) and mid silk gland (MSG) and 1388 DEGs between the mutant and the wild type. Hierarchical clustering of all the DEGs indicated a remarkable down-regulated and an up-regulated gene clade in the mutant silk glands, respectively. Down-regulated genes were overrepresented in the pathways involved in cancer, DNA replication and cell proliferation. Intriguingly, up-regulated DEGs are significantly enriched in the proteasome. By further comparison on the transcriptome of MSG and PSG between the wild type and the mutant, we consistently observed that up-regulated DEGs in the mutant PSG were enriched in protein degrading activity and proteasome. Meantime, we observed a series of up-regulated genes involved in autophagy. Since these protein degradation processes would be normally occur after the spinning time, the results suggesting that these progresses were activated remarkably ahead of schedule in the mutant. CONCLUSIONS Accumulation of abnormal fib-H protein might arouse the activation of proteasomes as well as autophagy process, to promote the rapid degradation of such abnormal proteins and the silk gland cells. Our study therefore proposes a subsequent process of protein and partial cellular degradation caused by mutation of silk protein, which might be helpful for understanding its impact of the silk gland biological process, and further exploration the re-allocation of nitrogen in the silkworm.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yong Cui
- Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Insect Development Regulation and Application Research, Institute of Insect Science and Technology, School of Life Sciences, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China
| | - Yanan Zhu
- Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Insect Development Regulation and Application Research, Institute of Insect Science and Technology, School of Life Sciences, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China
| | - Yongjian Lin
- Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Insect Development Regulation and Application Research, Institute of Insect Science and Technology, School of Life Sciences, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China
| | - Lei Chen
- Center for Ecological and Environmental Sciences, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, 710129, China
| | - Qili Feng
- Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Insect Development Regulation and Application Research, Institute of Insect Science and Technology, School of Life Sciences, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China
| | - Wen Wang
- Center for Ecological and Environmental Sciences, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, 710129, China.
| | - Hui Xiang
- Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Insect Development Regulation and Application Research, Institute of Insect Science and Technology, School of Life Sciences, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China.
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13
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Silk Spinning in Silkworms and Spiders. Int J Mol Sci 2016; 17:ijms17081290. [PMID: 27517908 PMCID: PMC5000687 DOI: 10.3390/ijms17081290] [Citation(s) in RCA: 85] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2016] [Revised: 07/31/2016] [Accepted: 08/02/2016] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Spiders and silkworms spin silks that outcompete the toughness of all natural and manmade fibers. Herein, we compare and contrast the spinning of silk in silkworms and spiders, with the aim of identifying features that are important for fiber formation. Although spiders and silkworms are very distantly related, some features of spinning silk seem to be universal. Both spiders and silkworms produce large silk proteins that are highly repetitive and extremely soluble at high pH, likely due to the globular terminal domains that flank an intermediate repetitive region. The silk proteins are produced and stored at a very high concentration in glands, and then transported along a narrowing tube in which they change conformation in response primarily to a pH gradient generated by carbonic anhydrase and proton pumps, as well as to ions and shear forces. The silk proteins thereby convert from random coil and alpha helical soluble conformations to beta sheet fibers. We suggest that factors that need to be optimized for successful production of artificial silk proteins capable of forming tough fibers include protein solubility, pH sensitivity, and preservation of natively folded proteins throughout the purification and initial spinning processes.
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Long D, Lu W, Hao Z, Xiang Z, Zhao A. Highly efficient and inducible DNA excision in transgenic silkworms using the FLP/FRT site-specific recombination system. Transgenic Res 2016; 25:795-811. [DOI: 10.1007/s11248-016-9970-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2016] [Accepted: 06/16/2016] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
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Kabay G, Kaleli G, Sultanova Z, Ölmez TT, Şeker UÖŞ, Mutlu M. Biocatalytic protein membranes fabricated by electrospinning. REACT FUNCT POLYM 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.reactfunctpolym.2016.03.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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Wang H, Wang L, Wang Y, Tao H, Yin W, SiMa Y, Wang Y, Xu S. High yield exogenous protein HPL production in the Bombyx mori silk gland provides novel insight into recombinant expression systems. Sci Rep 2015; 5:13839. [PMID: 26370318 PMCID: PMC4570194 DOI: 10.1038/srep13839] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2015] [Accepted: 08/06/2015] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
The silk gland of Bombyx mori (BmSG) has gained significant attention by dint of superior synthesis and secretion of proteins. However, the application of BmSG bioreactor is still a controversial issue because of low yields of recombinant proteins. Here, a 3057 bp full-length coding sequence of Hpl was designed and transformed into the silkworm genome, and then the mutant (Hpl/Hpl) with specific expression of Hpl in posterior BmSG (BmPSG) was obtained. In the mutants, the transcription level of Fib-L and P25, and corresponding encoding proteins, did not decrease. However, the mRNA level of Fib-H was reduced by 71.1%, and Fib-H protein in the secreted fibroin was decreased from 91.86% to 71.01%. The mRNA level of Hpl was 0.73% and 0.74% of Fib-H and Fib-L, respectively, while HPL protein accounted for 18.85% of fibroin and 15.46% of the total amount of secreted silk protein. The exogenous protein was therefore very efficiently translated and secreted. Further analysis of differentially expressed gene (DEG) was carried out in the BmPSG cells and 891 DEGs were detected, of which 208 genes were related to protein metabolism. Reduced expression of endogenous silk proteins in the BmPSG could effectively improve the production efficiency of recombinant exogenous proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huan Wang
- School of Biology and Basic Medical Sciences, Medical College, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Lu Wang
- School of Biology and Basic Medical Sciences, Medical College, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Yulong Wang
- School of Biology and Basic Medical Sciences, Medical College, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Hui Tao
- School of Biology and Basic Medical Sciences, Medical College, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Weimin Yin
- School of Biology and Basic Medical Sciences, Medical College, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Yanghu SiMa
- School of Biology and Basic Medical Sciences, Medical College, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Yujun Wang
- R&D Division, Okamoto Corporation, Nara 635-8550, Japan
| | - Shiqing Xu
- School of Biology and Basic Medical Sciences, Medical College, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China.,National Engineering Laboratory for Modern Silk, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China
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An efficient strategy for producing a stable, replaceable, highly efficient transgene expression system in silkworm, Bombyx mori. Sci Rep 2015; 5:8802. [PMID: 25739894 DOI: 10.1038/srep08802] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2014] [Accepted: 02/04/2015] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
We developed an efficient strategy that combines a method for the post-integration elimination of all transposon sequences, a site-specific recombination system, and an optimized fibroin H-chain expression system to produce a stable, replaceable, highly efficient transgene expression system in the silkworm (Bombyx mori) that overcomes the disadvantages of random insertion and post-integration instability of transposons. Here, we generated four different transgenic silkworm strains, and of one the transgenic strains, designated TS1-RgG2, with up to 16% (w/w) of the target protein in the cocoons, was selected. The subsequent elimination of all the transposon sequences from TS1-RgG2 was completed by the heat-shock-induced expression of the transposase in vivo. The resulting transgenic silkworm strain was designated TS3-g2 and contained only the attP-flanked optimized fibroin H-chain expression cassette in its genome. A phiC31/att-system-based recombinase-mediated cassette exchange (RMCE) method could be used to integrate other genes of interest into the same genome locus between the attP sites in TS3-g2. Controlling for position effects with phiC31-mediated RMCE will also allow the optimization of exogenous protein expression and fine gene function analyses in the silkworm. The strategy developed here is also applicable to other lepidopteran insects, to improve the ecological safety of transgenic strains in biocontrol programs.
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Fang SM, Hu BL, Zhou QZ, Yu QY, Zhang Z. Comparative analysis of the silk gland transcriptomes between the domestic and wild silkworms. BMC Genomics 2015; 16:60. [PMID: 25887670 PMCID: PMC4328555 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-015-1287-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2014] [Accepted: 01/26/2015] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Bombyx mori was domesticated from the Chinese wild silkworm, Bombyx mandarina. Wild and domestic silkworms are good models in which to investigate genes related to silk protein synthesis that may be differentially expressed in silk glands, because their silk productions are very different. Here we used the mRNA deep sequencing (RNA-seq) approach to identify the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the transcriptomes of the median/posterior silk glands of two domestic and two wild silkworms. Results The results indicated that about 58% of the total genes were expressed (reads per kilo bases per million reads (RPKM) ≥ 1) in each silkworm. Comparisons of the domestic and wild silkworm transcriptomes revealed 32 DEGs, of which 16 were up-regulated in the domestic silkworms compared with in the wild silkworms, and the other 16 were up-regulated in the wild silkworms compared with in the domestic silkworms. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was performed for 15 randomly selected DEGs in domestic versus wild silkworms. The qPCR results were mostly consistent with the expression levels determined from the RNA-seq data. Based on a Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis and manual annotation, five of the up-regulated DEGs in the wild silkworms were predicted to be involved in immune response, and seven of the up-regulated DEGs were related to the GO term “oxidoreductase activity”, which is associated with antioxidant systems. In the domestic silkworms, the up-regulated DEGs were related mainly to tissue development, secretion of proteins and metabolism. Conclusions The up-regulated DEGs in the two domestic silkworms may be involved mainly in the highly efficient biosynthesis and secretion of silk proteins, while the up-regulated DEGs in the two wild silkworms may play more important roles in tolerance to pathogens and environment adaptation. Our results provide a foundation for understanding the molecular mechanisms of the silk production difference between domestic and wild silkworms. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12864-015-1287-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shou-Min Fang
- School of Life Sciences, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044, China. .,College of Life Science, China West Normal University, Nanchong, 637002, China.
| | - Bi-Li Hu
- Key Sericultural Laboratory of Shaanxi, Ankang University, Ankang, 725000, China.
| | - Qiu-Zhong Zhou
- School of Life Sciences, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044, China.
| | - Quan-You Yu
- School of Life Sciences, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044, China.
| | - Ze Zhang
- School of Life Sciences, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044, China.
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