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Spider silk is a protein fibre or silk spun by spiders. Spiders use silk to make webs or other structures that function as adhesive traps to catch prey, to entangle and restrain prey before biting, to transmit tactile information, or as nests or cocoons to protect their offspring.
Spidroins are the main proteins in spider silk. Different types of spider silk contain different spidroins, all of which are members of a single protein family. [1] The most-researched type of spidroins are the major ampullate silk proteins (MaSp) used in the construction of dragline silk, the strongest type of spider silk.
Spider silk is typically about 1 to 2 micrometers (μm) thick, compared with about 60 μm for human hair, and more for some mammals. The biologically and commercially useful properties of silk fibers depend on the organization of multiple adjacent protein chains into hard, crystalline regions of varying size, alternating with flexible ...
The silk is a complex form of protein fiber that starts off as a protein-rich liquid and then dries into solid filaments, thanks to spinnerets, an external portion of spider glands.
Animal fibers consist largely of particular proteins. Instances are silkworm silk, spider silk, sinew, catgut, wool, sea silk and hair such as cashmere wool, mohair and angora, fur such as sheepskin, rabbit, mink, fox, beaver, etc. Mineral fibers include the asbestos group. Asbestos is the only naturally occurring long mineral fiber.
Spider silk proteins have been successfully produced in transgenic goats' milk, [102] tobacco leaves, [103] silkworms, [104] [105] [106] and bacteria, [101] [107] [108] and recombinant spider silk is now available as a commercial product from some biotechnology companies.
Spider silk fibril is composed of stiff crystallized β-sheets structure, responsible for strength, and amorphous matrix surrounding, improving toughness and elongation ability. [16] It has exceptionally high tensile strength and ductility, with respectively low density, compared to other natural fibril.
The spidroins that make up all types of spider silk are produced by glands. In orb-weaving spiders, like Araneus ventricosus, there are typically seven or fewer of these glands. The silk proteins created by the glands include flagelliform spidroins, called Flag; tubuliform spidroins, called TuSp; aciniform spidroins, called AcSp; aggregate ...