Collaborative: Spider fluorescence as a potential visual signal

该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案(公法111-5)资助的。科学家们刚刚开始发现自然界中有机体中荧光的存在程度，以及荧光在影响有机体生存中可能发挥的作用。我们的知识之所以有限，部分是因为人类只能看到一部分光的光谱，我们称之为‘可见光’。然而，许多生物，包括蜘蛛、昆虫和鸟类，也可以看到紫外线，并可能使用紫外线着色进行视觉交流。马斯塔和里德最近发现，当蜘蛛暴露在紫外线下时，它们发出的荧光主要是紫外线波长。当被称为荧光团的分子吸收一个波长的光，然后发射更长波长的光时，就会发生荧光。为了更好地了解这种物种丰富和具有生态重要性的动物群体中的荧光，将在蜘蛛群体中广泛地表征和量化荧光，并在三种蜘蛛中深入研究荧光。这将使人们更好地了解蜘蛛荧光是否具有交流信息的功能，从而使蜘蛛能够吸引配偶、躲避捕食者和引诱猎物。将从蜘蛛中提取荧光团，并测定这些荧光团的发光特性，测试性别和年龄的差异。这项研究扩展了一项新的发现，应该会开辟新的研究路线，并可能带来可观的社会效益。如果荧光有助于蜘蛛引诱昆虫，那么它可能被利用来控制虫害。此外，源于自然界中的物质的荧光标签在医学和生物技术中有许多应用。通过在一组在这方面完全没有被探索的动物身上启动对荧光团的研究，启动了对新的和生物医学有用的化学物质的搜索。该项目还包括广泛的学生研究培训，以及教育和吸引学生和公众参与的外联努力。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).Scientists are just beginning to discover the extent to which fluorescence occurs in organisms in nature, and what roles fluorescence may play in influencing an organism's survival. Our knowledge has been limited in part because humans can see only a portion of the spectrum of light, which we term 'visible light'. However, many organisms, including spiders, insects, and birds, can see ultraviolet light as well, and may visually communicate using ultraviolet coloration. Masta and Reed recently discovered that spiders fluoresce in primarily ultraviolet wavelengths when exposed to ultraviolet light. Fluorescence occurs when molecules called fluorophores absorb light at one wavelength and then emit light at a longer wavelength. To better understand fluorescence in this species-rich and ecologically important group of animals, fluorescence will be characterized and quantified broadly among spider groups, and in-depth in three species of spiders. This will allow greater understanding of whether spider fluorescence may function to communicate information, enabling spiders to attract mates, evade predators, and lure prey. Fluorophores will be extracted from spiders and the fluorophores' light-emitting properties determined, testing for differences by sex and age. This research expands on a novel finding that should open up new lines of research, and could lead to considerable societal benefits. If fluorescence helps spiders to lure insects, then it could potentially be exploited for pest control. Moreover, fluorescent tags derived from substances in nature have many applications in medicine and biotechnology. By launching the study of fluorophores in a group of animals that has been completely unexplored in this regard, initiates a search for novel and biomedically useful chemicals. This project also includes extensive student research training, as well as outreach efforts to educate and engage students and the public.