CRUI: An Integrative Study of Spider Silk Proteins and Prey Capture

这项蜘蛛丝研究将确定其机械特性的分子来源，这些特性有助于在圆网、漏斗网和穗状网中捕获猎物。在蜘蛛丝中发现的各种材料特性为将材料特性与一类生物聚合物中的分子结构相关联提供了一个理想的系统。该项目将招收本科生在克莱蒙特学院联合科学系从事生物、化学、物理和工程方面的研究。早期接触跨学科研究将使学生为他们选择的职业带来有价值的观点。来自漏斗编织者Hololena和cob编织者Latrodectus mactans的丝绸将与已知的球形编织者Araneus的丝绸进行比较。这种比较将整合五个层次的信息：1。氨基酸分析、蛋白质测序和基因表达的一级结构；2. 碳13核磁共振二级结构；3. 原子力显微镜下的高阶结构4. 材料测试的机械性能；5. 整个网的力学行为通过计算建模。猎物的捕获是这些丝和网的综合功能的结果。此外，了解材料性质与分子结构之间的关系对理想材料的设计具有重要意义。该项目旨在让斯克里普斯、皮策和克莱蒙特·麦肯纳学院的本科生与教师合作，研究三种不同蜘蛛的蜘蛛网和蛛丝。早期接触跨学科研究将为学生选择的职业带来有价值的观点。并不是所有的蜘蛛都会织网，尽管科学家们最常研究的是我们熟悉的圆形蛛网。其他网的形状不同，捕捉昆虫的方式也不同。将研究三种类型的网：由Hololena蜘蛛建造的漏斗网，b黑寡妇蜘蛛（Latrodectus mactans）的棒状网和Araneus的球形网。因为这些网以不同的方式捕获猎物，所以每种网的蛛丝都有不同的机械和分子特性。各种各样的网和丝将在五个不同的层次上进行研究。1. 当猎物被捕获时，计算机将用来模拟蛛网的振动。2. 将测量丝绸的强度和弹性。3. 研究人员将使用一种最新开发的名为原子力显微镜（AFM）的仪器来研究蚕丝纤维的结构，这种仪器的成像尺寸比传统显微镜要小。4. 核磁共振（NMR）光谱学将用于确定可能赋予蚕丝强度和弹性的蚕丝蛋白的折叠和扭曲。5. 通过氨基酸分析可以发现蚕丝蛋白的化学组成。了解材料性质与丝蛋白分子结构之间的关系，除了具有科学意义外，还对新材料的设计具有重要意义。

9711031 Moore This spider silk study will determine molecular sources of the mechanical properties that facilitate prey capture in orb, funnel and cob webs. The wide array of material properties found in spider silks offers an ideal system for correlating material properties with molecular structure within a single class of biopolymers. This project will recruit undergraduates to research in biology, chemistry, physics and engineering at the Joint Science Department of the Claremont Colleges. Early exposure to crossdisciplinary research will enable students to bring a valuable viewpoint to their chosen careers. Silks from the funnel weaver, Hololena, and the cob weaver, Latrodectus mactans, will be compared to the known silks of the orb weaver, Araneus. This comparison will integrate information from five hierarchical levels: 1. primary structure from amino acid analysis, protein sequencing and gene expression; 2. secondary structure from carbon13 NMR spectroscopy; 3. higher order structure from atomic force microscopy; 4. mechanical properties from materials testing, and; 5. mechanical behavior of the whole web from computational modeling. Prey capture results from the integrated function of these silks and webs. Moreover, the understanding of relationships between material properties and molecular structure has implications for design of ideal materials. This project has been designed to enable undergraduates at Scripps, Pitzer and Claremont McKenna Colleges to collaborate with faculty in the study of spider webs and silk from three different spiders. Early exposure to inter disciplinary research will bring a valuable viewpoint to students' chosen careers. Not all spiders weave orb webs, although the familiar, circular orb web has been most often studied by scientists. Other webs are built in different shapes and also catch insects differently. Three web types will be studied: funnel webs built by the spider Hololena, the cob webs of the b lack widow spider (Latrodectus mactans), and orb webs of Araneus. Because these webs capture prey in distinct ways, the silk from each web type is expected to have different mechanical and molecular properties. The various webs and silks will be studied on five different levels. 1. Computers will be used to model the vibrations of the webs when prey is caught. 2. The strength and elasticity of the silks will be measured. 3. The structure of the silk fibers will be studied using a recently developed instrument called the atomic force microscope (AFM) which can image smaller than traditional microscopes. 4. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy will be used to determine the folding and twisting of the silk proteins that may give the silks their strength and elasticity. 5. The chemical makeup of the silk proteins will be found by amino acid analysis. The understanding of relationships between material properties and molecular structure of silk proteins, in addition to being scientifically interesting, has implications for the design of new materials.