Composition and Function of Spider Glues Maintained During the Evolution of Cobwebs
Composition and Function of Spider Glues Maintained During the Evolution of Cobwebs
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DOI：
10.1021/acs.biomac.5b01040
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发表时间：
2015-10-01
影响因子：
6.2
通讯作者：
Dhinojwala, Ali
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Jain, Dharamdeep;Zhang, Ci;Dhinojwala, Ali
捕捉丝是一类有趣的生物胶，可以帮助蜘蛛制服猎物。由圆网蜘蛛产生的粘性捕获丝是一种吸湿盐的组合，有助于吸水，并与粘性糖蛋白相互作用，使它们柔软而粘稠。这个球体是新蛛网类型进化的垫脚石，但人们对这些蛛网中的粘合剂知之甚少。例如，蛛网蜘蛛从圆网蜘蛛的祖先进化而来，并利用胶水在专门的粘性gumfoot线，而不是弹性螺旋。早期的研究表明，胶足粘合剂是非常不同的粘性胶水，因为它们缺乏可见的糖蛋白核心，作为粘弹性流体而不是固体，并且在很大程度上不受湿度的影响。在这里，我们使用光谱和染色方法表明，橡胶足丝所产生的Latrodectus hesperus（西部黑寡妇）是由吸湿性有机盐和水不溶性糖蛋白，类似粘性丝，除了低浓度的蜘蛛涂层肽之前报道。我们的粘附研究表明，有机盐在粘附中起着重要的作用，类似于圆网蜘蛛，但在低得多的湿度下调节功能。我们的工作表明，球网和蛛网蜘蛛产生的粘性丝比以前预期的更相似，并为开发可在干燥到潮湿环境中工作的合成粘合剂提供指导。
Capture silks are an interesting class of biological glues that help spiders subdue their prey. Viscid capture silk produced by the orb web spiders is a combination of hygroscopic salts that aid in water uptake and interact with adhesive glycoproteins to make them soft and sticky. The orb was a stepping stone to the evolution of new web types, but little is known about the adhesives in these webs. For instance, cobweb spiders evolved from orb-weaving ancestors and utilize glue in specialized sticky gumfoot threads rather than an elastic spiral. Early investigation suggests that gumfoot adhesives are quite different viscid glues because they lack a visible glycoprotein core, act as viscoelastic fluids rather than solids, and are largely invariant to humidity. Here, we use spectroscopic and staining methods to show that the gumfoot silk produced by Latrodectus hesperus (western black widow) is composed of hygroscopic organic salts and water insoluble glycoproteins, similar to viscid silk, in addition to a low concentration of spider coating peptides reported before. Our adhesion studies reveal that the organic salts play an important role in adhesion, similar to that seen in orb web spiders, but modulating function at much lower humidity. Our work shows more similarities in the viscid silk produced by orb web and cobweb spiders than previously anticipated and provide guidelines for developing synthetic adhesives that can work in dry to humid environments.