The molecular structures of major ampullate silk proteins of the wasp spider,Argiope bruennichi: A second blueprint for synthesizing de novo silk

The dragline silk of orb-weaving spiders possesses extremely high tensile strength and elasticity. To date, full-length sequences of only two genes encoding major ampullate silk protein (MaSp) in Latrodectus hesperus have been determined. In order to further understand this gene family, we utilized in this study a variety of strategies to isolate full-length MaSp1 and MaSp2 cDNAs in the wasp spider Argiope bruennichi. A. bruennichi MaSp1 and MaSp2 are primarily composed of remarkably homogeneous ensemble repeats containing several complex motifs, and both have highly conserved C-termini and N-termini. Two novel amino acid motifs, GGF and SGR, were found in MaSp1 and MaSp2, respectively. Amino acid composition analysis of silk, luminal contents and predicted sequences indicates that MaSp1 and MaSp2 are two major components of major ampullate glands and that the ratio of MaSp1 to MaSp2 is approximately 3:2 in dragline silk. Furthermore, both the MaSp1:MaSp2 ratio and the conserved termini are closely linked with the production of high quality synthetic fibers. Our results make an important contribution to our understanding of major ampullate silk protein structure and provide a second blueprint for creating new composite silk which mimics natural spider dragline silk.     

Inducing β-sheets formation in synthetic spider silk fibers by aqueous post-spin stretching

As a promising biomaterial with numerous potential applications, various types of synthetic spider silk fibers have been produced and studied in an effort to produce man-made fibers with mechanical and physical properties comparable to those of native spider silk. In this study, two recombinant proteins based on Nephila clavipes Major ampullate Spidroin 1 (MaSp1) consensus repeat sequence were expressed and spun into fibers. Mechanical test results showed that fiber spun from the higher molecular weight protein had better overall mechanical properties (70 KD versus 46 KD), whereas postspin stretch treatment in water helped increase fiber tensile strength significantly. Carbon-13 solid-state NMR studies of those fibers further revealed that the postspin stretch in water promoted protein molecule rearrangement and the formation of β-sheets in the polyalanine region of the silk. The rearrangement correlated with improved fiber mechanical properties and indicated that postspin stretch is key to helping the spider silk proteins in the fiber form correct secondary structures, leading to better quality fibers.     

Molecular and mechanical properties of major ampullate silk of the black widow spider, Latrodectus hesperus

Molecular and material properties of major ampullate silk were studied for the cobweb-building black widow spider Latrodectus hesperus. Material properties were measured by stretching the silk to breaking. The strength was 1.0 +/- 0.2 GPa, and the extensibility was 34 +/- 8%. The secondary structure of the major ampullate silk protein was studied using carbon-13 NMR spectroscopy. Alanine undergoes a transition from a coiled structure in pre-spun silk to a beta sheet structure in post-spun silk. We have also isolated two distinct cDNAs (both about 500 bp) which encode proteins similar to major ampullate spidroin 1 and 2 (MaSp1 and MaSp2). The MaSp1-like silk contains polyalanine runs of 5-10 residues as well as GA and GGX motifs. The MaSp2-like silk contains polyalanine runs of varying length as well as GPG(X)(n) motifs. L. hesperus major ampullate silk is more like major ampullate silk from other species than other L. hesperus silks.     

Supercontraction stress in spider webs

Silk produced from the major ampullate (MA) gland supercontracts when wet, and in this paper, we investigate the consequences of high humidity and of the added load of water droplets condensing from saturated air on the mechanical integrity of the spiders' orb web. We measured the development of the supercontraction stress (sigma(sc)) with time when fixed lengths of MA silk from Nephila clavipes and Argiope aurantia were exposed to increasing humidity. Supercontraction generated stresses of about 50 MPa, and extension of these samples to stresses between 150 and 1100 MPa show a time dependent relaxation over 1000 s to approximately 75% of the initial tension but show no indication of failure. We conclude that supercontraction can maintain tension in webs and does not limit the ability of the web to support loads in excess of the supercontraction stress.     

NMR assignments of the N-terminal domain of Nephila clavipes spidroin 1

The building blocks of spider dragline silk are two fibrous proteins secreted from the major ampullate gland named spidroins 1 and 2 (MaSp1, MaSp2). These proteins consist of a large central domain composed of approximately 100 tandem copies of a 35–40 amino acid repeat sequence. Non-repetitive N and C-terminal domains, of which the C-terminal domain has been implicated to transition from soluble and insoluble states during spinning, flank the repetitive core. The N-terminal domain until recently has been largely unknown due to difficulties in cloning and expression. Here, we report nearly complete assignment for all ¹H, ¹³C, and ¹⁵N resonances in the 14 kDa N-terminal domain of major ampullate spidroin 1 (MaSp1-N) of the golden orb-web spider Nephila clavipes.     

13C NMR of Nephila clavipes major ampullate silk gland.

The major ampullate glands of the spider Nephila clavipes contain approximately 0.2 microliter each of a highly concentrated (approximately 50%) solution of silk fibroin. Therefore, the reservoir of silk in these glands presents an ideal opportunity to observe prefolded conformations of a protein in its native state. To this end, the structure and conformation of major ampullate gland silk fibroin within the glands of the spider N. clavipes were examined by 13C NMR spectroscopy. These results were compared to those from silk protein first drawn from the spinneret and then denatured. The 13C NMR chemical shifts, along with infrared and circular dichroism data, suggest that the silk fibroin in the glands exists in dynamically averaged helical conformations. Furthermore, there is no evidence of proline residues in U-(13)C-D-glucose-labeled silk. This transient prefolded "molten fibril" state may correspond to the silk I form found in Bombyx mori silk. There is no evidence of the final beta-sheet structure in the ampullate gland silk fibroin before final silk processing. However, the conformation of silk in the glands appears to be in a highly metastable state, as plasticization with water produces the beta-sheet structure. Therefore, the ducts connecting the ampullate glands to the spinnerets play a larger role in silk processing than previously thought.     

Correlation between mRNA structure of the coding region and translational pauses.

Discontinuous translational elongation of polypeptides is observed during spider dragline silk fibroin synthesis (1,2). The repeating segment of one of the two subunit proteins constituting spider major ampullate (dragline) silk of Nephila clavipes, Spidroin 2, consists of alternate alanine-rich and proline-rich regions (3). It was found that the calculated free energy of the secondary structure of Spidroin 2 mRNA per nucleotide for the alanine-rich region is about the same as that for the successive proline-rich region. The small stability changes of local mRNA secondary structures along the mRNA chain suggest that the translational pauses observed for dragline silk fibroin synthesis may not be correlated with Spidroin 2 mRNA structure, in contrast to Spidroin 1 mRNA structure which may explain the translational pauses (4).     

Effect of loading rate on mechanical properties and fracture morphology of spider silk

Spider silks have been shown to have impressive mechanical properties. In order to assess the effect of extension rate, both quasi-static and high-rate tensile properties were determined for single fibers of major (MA) and minor (MI) ampullate single silk from the orb weaving spider Nephila clavipes . Low rate tests have been performed using a DMA Q800 at 10(-3) s(-1), while high rate analysis was done at 1700 s(-1) utilizing a miniature Kolsky bar apparatus. Rate effects exhibited by both respective silk types are addressed, and direct comparison of the tensile response between the two fibers is made. The fibers showed major increases in toughness at the high extension rate. Mechanical properties of these organic silks are contrasted to currently employed ballistic fibers and examination of fiber fracture mechanisms are probed via scanning electron microscope, revealing a globular rupture surface topography for both rate extremums.     

Variation in protein intake induces variation in spider silk expression

Background

It is energetically expensive to synthesize certain amino acids. The proteins (spidroins) of spider major ampullate (MA) silk, MaSp1 and MaSp2, differ in amino acid composition. Glutamine and proline are prevalent in MaSp2 and are expensive to synthesize. Since most orb web spiders express high proline silk they might preferentially attain the amino acids needed for silk from food and shift toward expressing more MaSp1 in their MA silk when starved.

Methodology/Principal Findings

We fed three spiders; Argiope aetherea, Cyrtophora moluccensis and Leucauge blanda, high protein, low protein or no protein solutions. A. aetherea and L. blanda MA silks are high in proline, while C. moluccesnsis MA silks are low in proline. After 10 days of feeding we determined the amino acid compositions and mechanical properties of each species'' MA silk and compared them between species and treatments with pre-treatment samples, accounting for ancestry. We found that the proline and glutamine of A. aetherea and L. blanda silks were affected by protein intake; significantly decreasing under the low and no protein intake treatments. Glutmaine composition in C. moluccensis silk was likewise affected by protein intake. However, the composition of proline in their MA silk was not significantly affected by protein intake.

Conclusions

Our results suggest that protein limitation induces a shift toward different silk proteins with lower glutamine and/or proline content. Contradictions to the MaSp model lie in the findings that C. moluccensis MA silks did not experience a significant reduction in proline and A. aetherea did not experience a significant reduction in serine on low/no protein. The mechanical properties of the silks could not be explained by a MaSp1 expressional shift. Factors other than MaSp expression, such as the expression of spidroin-like orthologues, may impact on silk amino acid composition and spinning and glandular processes may impact mechanics.     

Phylogenetic placement of the spider genus Nephila (Araneae: Araneoidea) inferred from rRNA and MaSp1 gene sequences

The family status of the genus Nephila, which belongs to Tetragnathidae currently but Araneidae formerly, was reexamined based on molecular phylogenetic analyses. In the present study, 12S and 18S rRNA gene fragments of eight species of spiders were amplified and sequenced. In addition, 3'-end partial cDNA of major ampullate spidroin-1 (MaSp1) gene of Argiope amoena was cloned and sequenced, and the 3'-end non-repetitive region's cDNA sequence of MaSp1 gene and the predicted amino acid sequence of C-terminal non-repetitive region of MaSp1 were aligned with some previously known sequences. The resulting phylogeny showed that Araneidae and Tetragnathidae are not a sister group in the superfamily Araneoidea, and the genus Nephila is closer to the genera of the family Araneidae rather than to those of Tetragnathidae. We suggest that the genus Nephila should be transferred back to Araneidae. Or the subfamily Nephilinae might be elevated to family level after it was redefined and redelimited. Furthermore, the study showed that 3'-end non-repetitive region's cDNA sequence of MaSp1 gene and C-terminal non-repetitive region's amino acid sequence of MaSp1 are useful molecular markers for phylogenetic analysis of spiders.     

Conserved C-termini of Spidroins are secreted by the major ampullate glands and retained in the silk thread

The C-termini of Spidroins produced in the major and minor ampullate glands of spiders are highly conserved. Despite this conservation, no corresponding peptides have been identified in the spinning dopes or the silk filaments so far. To prove their presence or absence, polyclonal antibodies derived against fusion proteins containing the conserved C-terminal regions of both Spidroin 1 and 2 from the spider Nephila clavipes were generated. The antibodies reacted with high molecular weight polypeptides of the corresponding gland extracts and solubilized major ampullate filament and in addition to filament cross-sections. This demonstrates the existence of C-terminal specific peptides in the spinning dope and the mature Spidroins. Both the fusion proteins as well as the proteins contained within the gland lumen showed a reduction in their size under reducing conditions indicating the presence of disulfide bonds. Their high conservation and the biochemical data suggest crucial roles the C-termini play in the formation and/or structure of the corresponding silk filaments.     

Molecular characterization and evolutionary study of spider tubuliform (eggcase) silk protein

As a result of hundreds of millions of years of evolution, orb-web-weaving spiders have developed the use of seven different silks produced by different abdominal glands for various functions. Tubuliform silk (eggcase silk) is unique among these spider silks due to its high serine and very low glycine content. In addition, tubuliform silk is the only silk produced just during a short period of time, the reproductive season, in the spider's life. To understand the molecular characteristics of the proteins composing this silk, we constructed tubuliform-gland-specific cDNA libraries from three different spider families, Nephila clavipes, Argiope aurantia, and Araneus gemmoides. Sequencing of tubuliform silk cDNAs reveals the repetitive architecture of its coding sequence and novel amino acid motifs. The inferred protein, tubuliform spidroin 1 (TuSp1), contains highly homogenized repeats in all three spiders. Amino acid composition comparison of the predicted tubuliform silk protein sequence to tubuliform silk indicates that TuSp1 is the major component of tubuliform silk. Repeat unit alignment of TuSp1 among three spider species shows high sequence conservation among tubuliform silk protein orthologue groups. Sequence comparison among TuSp1 repetitive units within species suggests intragenic concerted evolution, presumably through gene conversion and unequal crossover events. Comparative analysis demonstrates that TuSp1 represents a new orthologue in the spider silk gene family.     

Structure and pH-induced alterations of recombinant and natural spider silk proteins in solution

The spinning process of spiders can modulate the mechanical properties of their silk fibers. It is therefore of primary importance to understand what are the key elements of the spider spinning process to develop efficient industrial spinning processes. We have exhaustively investigated the native conformation of major ampullate silk (MaS) proteins by comparing the content of the major ampullate gland of Nephila clavipes, solubilized MaS (SolMaS) fibers and the recombinant proteins rMaSpI and rMaSpII using (1) H solution NMR spectroscopy. The results indicate that the protein secondary structure is basically identical for the recombinant protein rMaSpI, SolMaS proteins, and the proteins in the dope, and corresponds to a disordered protein rich in 3(1) -helices. The data also show that glycine proton chemical shifts of rMaSpI and SolMaS are affected by pH, but that this change is not due to a modification of the secondary structure. Using a combination of NMR and dynamic light scattering, we have found that the spectral alteration of glycine is concomitant to a modification of the hydrodynamical diameter of recombinant and solubilized MaS. This led us to suggest new potential roles for the pH acidification in the spinning process of MaS proteins.     

Spider dragline silk proteins in transgenic tobacco leaves: accumulation and field production

Spider dragline silk is a unique biomaterial and represents nature's strongest known fibre. As it is almost as strong as many commercial synthetic fibres, it is suitable for use in many industrial and medical applications. The prerequisite for such a widespread use is the cost-effective production in sufficient quantities for commercial fibre manufacturing. Agricultural biotechnology and the production of recombinant dragline silk proteins in transgenic plants offer the potential for low-cost, large-scale production. The purpose of this work was to examine the feasibility of producing the two protein components of dragline silk (MaSp1 and MaSp2) from Nephila clavipes in transgenic tobacco. Two different promoters, the enhanced CaMV 35S promoter (Kay et al., 1987) and a new tobacco cryptic constitutive promoter, tCUP (Foster et al., 1999) were used, in conjunction with a plant secretory signal (PR1b), a translational enhancer (alfalfa mosaic virus, AMV) and an endoplasmic reticulum (ER) retention signal (KDEL), to express the MaSp1 and MaSp2 genes in the leaves of transgenic plants. Both genes expressed successfully and recombinant protein accumulated in transgenic plants grown in both greenhouse and field trials.     

Structural studies of spider silk proteins in the fiber

Although spider silk has been studied for a number of years the structures of the proteins involved have yet to be definitely determined. X-ray diffraction and solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) were used to study major ampullate (dragline) silk from Nephila clavipes. The silk was studied in its natural state, in the supercontacted state and in the restretched state following supercontraction. The natural silk structure is dominated by β-sheets aligned parallel to the fiber axis. Supercontraction is characterized by randomizing of the orientation of the β-sheet. When the fiber is restretched alignment is regained. However, the same reorientation was observed for wetting of minor ampullate silk which does not supercontract. Thus, the reorientation of β-sheets alone cannot explain the supercontraction in dragline silk. Cocoon silk showed very little β-sheet orientation in the natural state and there were no changes upon wetting. NMR and X-ray diffraction data are consistent with the β-sheets arising from the poly-alanine sequences known to be present in the proteins of major ampullate silk as has been proposed previously. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Blueprint for a high-performance biomaterial: full-length spider dragline silk genes

Spider dragline (major ampullate) silk outperforms virtually all other natural and manmade materials in terms of tensile strength and toughness. For this reason, the mass-production of artificial spider silks through transgenic technologies has been a major goal of biomimetics research. Although all known arthropod silk proteins are extremely large (>200 kiloDaltons), recombinant spider silks have been designed from short and incomplete cDNAs, the only available sequences. Here we describe the first full-length spider silk gene sequences and their flanking regions. These genes encode the MaSp1 and MaSp2 proteins that compose the black widow's high-performance dragline silk. Each gene includes a single enormous exon (>9000 base pairs) that translates into a highly repetitive polypeptide. Patterns of variation among sequence repeats at the amino acid and nucleotide levels indicate that the interaction of selection, intergenic recombination, and intragenic recombination governs the evolution of these highly unusual, modular proteins. Phylogenetic footprinting revealed putative regulatory elements in non-coding flanking sequences. Conservation of both upstream and downstream flanking sequences was especially striking between the two paralogous black widow major ampullate silk genes. Because these genes are co-expressed within the same silk gland, there may have been selection for similarity in regulatory regions. Our new data provide complete templates for synthesis of recombinant silk proteins that significantly improve the degree to which artificial silks mimic natural spider dragline fibers.     

悦目金蛛和棒络新妇卵袋丝物理化学结构表征及其力学性能研究

蜘蛛丝是一种具有优良机械性能的天然动物蛋白纤维,它特有的结构和性能与其生物学功能密切相关。作者采用氨基酸自动分析仪、傅立叶转换红外光谱仪、扫描电镜和电子单纤强力仪对悦目金蛛（Argiope amoena）和棒络新妇（Nephila clavata）的卵袋丝进行了物理化学结构表征与力学性能的研究,结果表明两种蜘蛛卵袋均由微米级柱状腺丝、大壶状腺丝、亚微米级或纳米级葡萄状腺丝构成。卵袋丝的表面形貌特征、极性氨基酸含量、大侧链与小侧链氨基酸的比值、无定型区、β-折叠结构与结晶结构的含量等氨基酸组成种类与蛋白质二级结构特征,均满足各自生物学功能对断裂强度、延展性、初始模量等力学性能的要求。