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Recombinant Minimalist Spider Wrapping Silk Proteins Capable of Native-Like Fiber Formation

dc.contributor.authorXu, Linglingen_US
dc.contributor.authorRainey, Jan K.en_US
dc.contributor.authorMeng, Qingen_US
dc.contributor.authorLiu, Xiang-Qinen_US
dc.date.accessioned2013-08-09T19:22:20Z
dc.date.available2013-08-09T19:22:20Z
dc.date.issued2012-11en_US
dc.description.abstractSpider silks are desirable biomaterials characterized by high tensile strength, elasticity, and biocompatibility. Spiders produce different types of silks for different uses, although dragline silks have been the predominant focus of previous studies. Spider wrapping silk, made of the aciniform protein (AcSp1), has high toughness because of its combination of high elasticity and tensile strength. AcSp1 in Argiope trifasciata contains a 200-aa sequence motif that is repeated at least 14 times. Here, we produced in E. coli recombinant proteins consisting of only one to four of the 200-aa AcSp1 repeats, designated W-1 to W-4. We observed that purified W-2, W-3 and W-4 proteins could be induced to form silk-like fibers by shear forces in a physiological buffer. The fibers formed by W-4 were similar to 3.4 mu m in diameter and up to 10 cm long. They showed an average tensile strength of 115 MPa, elasticity of 37%, and toughness of 34 J cm(-3). The smaller W-2 protein formed fewer fibers and required a higher protein concentration to form fibers, whereas the smallest W-1 protein did not form silk-like fibers, indicating that a minimum of two of the 200-aa repeats was required for fiber formation. Microscopic examinations revealed structural features indicating an assembly of the proteins into spherical structures, fibrils, and silk-like fibers. CD and Raman spectral analysis of protein secondary structures suggested a transition from predominantly alpha-helical in solution to increasingly beta-sheet in fibers.en_US
dc.identifier.citationXu, Lingling, Jan K. Rainey, Qing Meng, and Xiang-Qin Liu. 2012. "Recombinant Minimalist Spider Wrapping Silk Proteins Capable of Native-Like Fiber Formation." Plos One 7(11): 50227-e50227.en_US
dc.identifier.issn1932-6203en_US
dc.identifier.issue11en_US
dc.identifier.startpage50227en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0050227en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10222/30546
dc.identifier.volume7en_US
dc.relation.ispartofPlos Oneen_US
dc.titleRecombinant Minimalist Spider Wrapping Silk Proteins Capable of Native-Like Fiber Formationen_US
dc.typeTexten_US

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