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Lozano-Pérez AA, Pagán A, Zhurov V, Hudson SD, Hutter JL, Pruneri V, Pérez-Moreno I, Grbic' V, Cenis JL, Grbic' M, Aznar-Cervantes S. The silk of gorse spider mite Tetranychus lintearius represents a novel natural source of nanoparticles and biomaterials. Sci Rep 2020; 10:18471. [PMID: 33116211 PMCID: PMC7595037 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-74766-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2020] [Accepted: 09/25/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Spider mites constitute an assemblage of well-known pests in agriculture, but are less known for their ability to spin silk of nanoscale diameters and high Young's moduli. Here, we characterize silk of the gorse spider mite Tetranychus lintearius, which produces copious amounts of silk with nano-dimensions. We determined biophysical characteristics of the silk fibres and manufactured nanoparticles and biofilm derived from native silk. We determined silk structure using attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and characterized silk nanoparticles using field emission scanning electron microscopy. Comparative studies using T. lintearius and silkworm silk nanoparticles and biofilm demonstrated that spider mite silk supports mammalian cell growth in vitro and that fluorescently labelled nanoparticles can enter cell cytoplasm. The potential for cytocompatibility demonstrated by this study, together with the prospect of recombinant silk production, opens a new avenue for biomedical application of this little-known silk.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonio Abel Lozano-Pérez
- Departmento de Biotecnología, Genómica y Mejora Vegetal, IMIDA, C/Mayor, s/n, 30150, La Alberca, Murcia, Spain.
| | - Ana Pagán
- Departmento de Biotecnología, Genómica y Mejora Vegetal, IMIDA, C/Mayor, s/n, 30150, La Alberca, Murcia, Spain
| | - Vladimir Zhurov
- Department of Biology, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON, N6A 5B7, Canada
| | - Stephen D Hudson
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON, N6A 3K7, Canada
| | - Jeffrey L Hutter
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON, N6A 3K7, Canada
| | - Valerio Pruneri
- ICFO-Institut de Ciències Fotòniques, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, 08860, Castelldefels, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Ignacio Pérez-Moreno
- Department of Agriculture and Food, University of La Rioja, C/Madre de Dios, 53, 26006, Logroño, La Rioja, Spain
| | - Vojislava Grbic'
- Department of Biology, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON, N6A 5B7, Canada
| | - José Luis Cenis
- Departmento de Biotecnología, Genómica y Mejora Vegetal, IMIDA, C/Mayor, s/n, 30150, La Alberca, Murcia, Spain
| | - Miodrag Grbic'
- Department of Biology, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON, N6A 5B7, Canada.
- Department of Agriculture and Food, University of La Rioja, C/Madre de Dios, 53, 26006, Logroño, La Rioja, Spain.
- Department of Biology, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia.
| | - Salvador Aznar-Cervantes
- Departmento de Biotecnología, Genómica y Mejora Vegetal, IMIDA, C/Mayor, s/n, 30150, La Alberca, Murcia, Spain
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Lin J, Kurbedin J, Khordipour E, Haines L, Nguyen A, Grbic M, Hoffman T, Carr M, Gupta S, Likourezos A, Aghera A. 348 Emergency Physician Learning Curve on Transesophageal Echocardiography Simulator. Ann Emerg Med 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.annemergmed.2020.09.363] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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Grbic' M. Polyembryony in parasitic wasps: evolution of a novel mode of development. Int J Dev Biol 2003; 47:633-42. [PMID: 14756339] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/28/2023]
Abstract
Major developmental innovations have been associated with adaptive radiations that have allowed particular groups of organisms to occupy empty ecospace. Well-known developmental novelties associated with the conquest of new habitats include the evolution of the tetrapode limb, allowing the radiation of vertebrates into a terrestrial habitat, and formation of insect wings that permitted their dispersal into the air. However, an understanding of the evolutionary forces and molecular mechanisms behind developmental novelties still remains tenuous. A little-studied adaptive radiation in insects from the developmental perspective is the evolution of parasitism. The parasitic lifestyle has allowed parasitic insects to occupy a novel ecological niche where they have evolved a plethora of life history strategies and modes of embryogenesis, developing on or within the body of the host. One of the most striking adaptations to development within the body of the host includes polyembryonic development, where certain wasps form clonally up to 2000 embryos from a single egg. Taking advantage of well-established insect phylogeny, techniques developed in a model insect, the fruit fly, and a wealth of knowledge in comparative insect embryology, we are starting to tease apart the evolutionary events that have led to this novel mode of development in insects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miodrag Grbic'
- Department of Biology, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada.
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