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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 ...
Spider silk is primarily composed of proteins made up of non-polar amino acids such as glycine and alanine. However, it also contains the organic compound pyrrolidine which functions to hold the silk's moisture and potassium nitrate which prevents any fungal or bacterial growth from occurring on the silk. [29] [7]
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.
There are at least six types of silk gland, each producing a different type of silk. [13] Spitting spiders also produce silk in modified venom glands. [41] Silk is mainly composed of a protein very similar to that used in insect silk.
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. [106]
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