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2016 ; 17
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Silk Spinning in Silkworms and Spiders
#MMPMID27517908
Andersson M
; Johansson J
; Rising A
Int J Mol Sci
2016[Aug]; 17
(8
): ä PMID27517908
show ga
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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