DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Spider Silk Evolution Across Ancient & Recent Phylogenetic Divergences

丝对于蜘蛛的生态和进化成功是必不可少的。尽管丝绸对蜘蛛的意义显而易见，但关于丝绸基因是如何随着时间的推移而通过自然选择来塑造的，人们知之甚少。该项目进一步研究了Aliatypus属物种所纺丝绸的进化和功能变化。这些蜘蛛依靠蚕丝建造洞穴和地板门，没有这些它们就无法生存。来自不同Aliatypus物种的丝绸基因将被测序，以确定基因之间的关系和变化率。这些结果将揭示蚕丝是如何在密切相关的物种中进化的，以及分子如何适应当地的环境条件。由于其非凡的机械性能，蜘蛛丝正被用于开发新型仿生材料，这种材料比芳纶纤维更坚韧，但也可生物降解。这项研究将帮助生物工程师了解丝素序列中的哪些元素对应于特定的功能或环境。此外，了解丝绸基因变异的动态与其他重复的结构蛋白相关，如生物医学上重要的胶原蛋白、弹性蛋白和淀粉样蛋白。此外，Starrett将为生物多样性的西南地区的本地动物编目做出贡献，并使本科生获得实地和实验室研究经验。

Silk is essential to the ecology and evolutionary success of spiders. Despite the clear significance of silk to spiders, little is known about how silk genes are shaped over time by natural selection. This project furthers investigation of the evolutionary and functional changes of silks spun by species of the genus Aliatypus. These spiders rely on silk for constructing burrows and trapdoors, without which they could not survive. Silk genes from different Aliatypus species will be sequenced to determine the relationships and rates of change among the genes. These results will reveal how silk evolves among closely-related species and how molecules adapt to local environmental conditions.Due to its extraordinary mechanical properties, spider silk is being used to develop novel biomimetic materials that are tougher than Kevlar but also biodegradable. This research will help bioengineers understand which elements of silk sequences correspond to particular functions or environments. Additionally, understanding the dynamics of silk gene variation has relevance to other repetitive, structural proteins, such as biomedically important collagens, elastins, and amyloids. Furthermore, Starrett will contribute to the cataloging of native fauna in the biologically diverse Southwest and enable undergraduates to gain both field and laboratory research experiences.