Abstract

Spider dragline silk possesses extraordinary mechanical properties. It consists of large fibrous proteins called spidroins that display modular structures. It is known to consist of two proteins: the major ampullate spidroin (MaSp) 1 and MaSp2. This study analyses MaSp sequences from the nursery-web spider Euprosthenops australis. We have identified a previously uncharacterized MaSp2 sequence and a new MaSp-like spidroin, which display distinct homogenous submotifs within their respective Gly-rich repeats. Furthermore, a group of MaSp1 cDNA clones show unexpected heterogeneity. Genomic PCR identified several MaSp1 gene variants within individual spiders, which suggests the presence of a gene cluster in E. australis. Finally, the evolution of spidroin genes is discussed in relation to phylogenetic analysis of nonrepetitive C-terminal domains from diverse species

Published in

Insect Molecular Biology
2007, Volume: 16, number: 5, pages: 551-561
Publisher: BLACKWELL PUBLISHING

SLU Authors

• Bongcam Rudloff, Erik

  • Department of Animal Biosciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Engström, Wilhelm

  • Department of Animal Biosciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Rising, Anna

  • Department of Animal Biosciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

UKÄ Subject classification

Animal and Dairy Science
Veterinary Science


Publication identifier

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2583.2007.00749.x

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/16991