Nanoparticle self-assembly by a highly stable recombinant spider wrapping silk protein subunit

Artificial spider silk proteins may form fibers with exceptional strength and elasticity. Wrapping silk, or aciniform silk, is the toughest of the spider silks, and has a very different protein composition than other spider silks. Here, we present the characterization of an aciniform protein (AcSp1) subunit named W₁, consisting of one AcSp1 199 residue repeat unit from Argiope trifasciata. The structural integrity of recombinant W₁ is demonstrated in a variety of buffer conditions and time points. Furthermore, we show that W₁ has a high thermal stability with reversible denaturation at ∼71 °C and forms self-assembled nanoparticle in near-physiological conditions. W₁ therefore represents a highly stable and structurally robust module for protein-based nanoparticle formation.     

Different positions of males approaching towards females and male choices between webs with and without stabilimentum in a sexually cannibalistic orb‐web spider,Argiope bruennichi

Males of the orb‐weaving spider species Argiope bruennichi (Araneidae) are frequently victims of sexual cannibalism. Therefore, a male spider approaching a female should have strategies to avoid being killed before copulation. Our present field study detected six types of A. bruennichi male positions vis‐à‐vis the female web. In 78% of situations (39/50), only one male attached to a female. Two males attached to the same female in 11 cases. We observed no cases of three or more males on the same female web. We most commonly observed the situation of a male staying in its own web and connecting to a female's web with its silk thread (46% of cases). Of the female webs chosen by males, 68% were decorated with both an upper and lower portion of stabilimentum – a conspicuous white silk structure that reflects much more ultraviolet light than other spider silks in the web. Only 14% (7/50) of the selected webs lacked stabilimentum. Therefore, we conducted an experiment to investigate the males' choice between females' webs with and without stabilimentum. Of the 24 males used in the experiment, 10 chose webs with stabilimentum. This result did not show a strong preference of the male for stabilimentum between equally sized webs, and thus did not support an earlier suggestion that stabilimentum in A. bruennichi might function to guide males to females for mating.     

横纹金蛛多次产卵生物量分配初步研究

卵袋是雌蛛产卵、若蛛孵化等繁育后代的保护性场所.常见农林蜘蛛横纹金蛛(Argiopebruennichi)一般一生产卵3～6次,织制卵袋3～6个.本文对横纹金蛛的体重、卵袋生物量、卵粒数与卵粒重进行了测试研究.结果表明,随着产卵次数增加,产卵间隔时间更长,但雌蛛产卵后至下一次产卵前生物量的增量在减少,而对卵袋生物量的投...     

2种织圆网蜘蛛个体大小与蛛网粘丝区面积间关系

在不惊扰蜘蛛的情况下对悦目金蛛Argiope amoena和圆尾肖蛸Tetragnatha vermiformis的个体大小与蛛网粘丝区面积问的相关性进行了野外观察。主要测量了蜘蛛体长、蛛网粘丝区直径、蛛网框丝固着点间最大距离、网中枢到地面或水面距离、网平面与水平线的夹角等参数;另外还对蛛网框丝固着点间最大距离作为圆网蛛网址选择行为量化指标的可行性进行了探讨。结果表明,2种蜘蛛体长与蛛网粘丝区面积以及蜘蛛体长与蛛网框丝固着点间最大距离均呈现明显的正相关。悦目金蛛体长与蛛网粘丝区面积的相关性高于圜尾肖蛸,这可能与悦目金蛛在其生境中易于找到框丝固着点、而圆尾肖蛸在其生境中较难找到框丝同着点有关;     

Do stabilimenta in orb webs attract prey or defend spiders?

Orb-weaving spiders are ideal organisms for the study of conflictbetween behavioral investments in foraging and defense becausetheir webs provide physical manifestations of those investments.We examined the impact of including stabilimenta, designs ofbright-white noncapture silk, at the center of orb webs forforaging and defense in Argiope aurantia. Our findings suggestthat stabilimentum building is a defensive behavior, supportingthe "web advertisement" hypothesis that the high visibilityof stabilimenta can prevent birds from flying through webs.Yet, spiders often do not include stabilimenta in their webs,indicating that a serious cost is associated with them. We alsoshow, through comparison of paired webs with and without stabilimenta,that stabilimenta reduce the prey capture success of spidersby almost 30%. This demonstrates the potential impact that defensivebehaviors of spiders can have on their foraging success andsuggests that much of the variation in stabilimenta may be accountedfor by a cost—benefit trade-off made when including stabilimentain webs.     

寡居种悦目金蛛若蛛群居机制初步研究

对寡居种悦目金蛛Argiope amoena若蛛群居生活对其结网的影响、温度和种群大小对若蛛存活率的影响、若蛛对限制性空间的利用及其扩散方式进行了观察和研究.结果表明,若蛛从卵袋出蛰后不经历群居扩散即具备结网能力,可结完整网,也具备在扩散前不进食水存活的能力;在变温条件下若蛛存活率要远远高于室温条件下的存活率,而在室温条件下若蛛开始死亡和半数死亡的时间比其聚居期长得多;若蛛主要通过群体空中扩散的方式进行扩散,可以减小能耗与敌害的威胁;不同种群大小的若蛛在限制性空间的分布均从第5d左右开始发生较大变化的,这与在空间不受限的条件下若蛛在第5d开始扩散的结果是一致的.据此我们推断:个体扩散代价最小化(包括御敌和能耗)和维持种群较高的生存率可能是寡居种悦目金蛛若蛛群居生活的主要原因.     

Relation between the outer cover of the egg case of Argiope aurantia (Araneae: Araneidae) and the emergence of its spiderlings

To emerge from the egg case, Argiope aurantia spiderlings must penetrate a tightly woven outer cover composed primarily of large-diameter cylindrical gland fibers and small-diameter fibers, likely of aciniform gland origin. They accomplish this using enzymatic digestion and mastication to form a communal hole in the outer cover. The involvement of proteolytic enzymes in this process was demonstrated by zymography of spiderling homogenates and washes made from the edges of holes. The specific source(s) of the proteases is unknown, but histological examination of spiderling sections indicates that the digestive tract, venom glands, and gnathocoxal glands are all functioning at the time of emergence from the egg case. Observations on edges of holes indicate that spiderlings are able to solubilize the small-diameter fibers completely, but cylindrical gland fibers only partially. In the outer cover, cylindrical fibers are composed of numerous fibrils embedded within a matrix. Spiderlings appear to be unable to solubilize the fibrils, but digestion of the matrix allows the spiderlings to push the fibrils aside to create the opening.     

The aggregating behaviour of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Argiope radon</Emphasis>, with special reference to web decorations

The existence of aggregations in taxa that are normally solitary poses questions regarding the costs and benefits of group living. Most orb-web spiders are solitary and are aggressive to conspecifics, but a few species aggregate in large numbers. These spiders benefit by enhancing the prey interception potential, but also suffer costs of increased predation and parasitism. In this study, we report on the natural history characteristics of the orb-web spider, Argiope radon, which not only lives in aggregations but also builds silk decorations. Our results show that A. radon aggregates facultatively and that the main benefit of aggregation that we could identify is enhanced mating potential. We also show that decorations built by A. radon are highly visible to both model prey and predator, and suggest that solitary individuals with longer and more frequent decorations may offset the foraging advantage of being in aggregations.