NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology: Form and Function of a water specialist orb weaver: From Molecules to Biomechanics

该行动为2022财年美国国家科学基金会生物学博士后研究奖学金提供资金，扩大生物学中代表性不足群体的参与。该奖学金支持研究员的研究和培训计划，该计划将增加在生物学中代表性不足的群体的参与。蜘蛛用不同类型的丝织网，这些丝具有不同的功能，包括坚韧的拖丝来拦截和阻止猎物，可重复使用的粘在猎物身上的胶水，以及将丝固定在基底上的耐用的附着盘。尽管人们对这些特性非常感兴趣，但蜘蛛丝的性能，特别是在web架构的背景下，在少数物种中得到了很好的研究。在具有挑战性的栖息地中发现的非典型蛛网有助于揭示自然选择如何改变蛛丝的不同用途。该项目将推进对丝绸结构、力学和进化生态学之间功能联系的认识，并将扩大丝绸的应用范围，从单线到线网，以及甚至可以粘在水面上的胶水。这项研究还将为研究员的独立研究生涯做准备，从代表性不足的群体中招募本科生，并将使蜘蛛丝研究广泛地为公众所接受。生活在空气-水界面对小动物来说是一个基本的挑战。Wendilgarda clara蜘蛛用一种不寻常的、缩小的、水平的球体网固定在溪流的水面上，捕捉漂浮的猎物。在水界面上狩猎可能需要进化出独特的结构和化学物质，以便将附着盘锚定在水中，也需要进化出新的蛋白质，以便用蛛网中的单丝捕获猎物。这个项目的目标是：(1)通过丝的化学性质、龙头形态和行为来确定Wengilgarda网是如何附着在水上的；(2)了解猎物捕获过程中蛛丝材料特性与蛛网形状的相互作用；(3)研究温德尔加达蛛丝蛋白的结构和进化特征。这项工作结合了尖端的分子和生物力学工具，将天然丝从蛋白质到整个蛛网的性能联系起来。该项目通过招募马萨诸塞州和俄亥俄州当地大学的本科生，以及波多黎各公立学校的本科生和高中生，扩大了参与范围。现场工作、项目进展和结果将通过社交媒体传播，也将促进生物材料的发展，因为附着盘丝显示出巨大的潜力，可以开发出强大、坚固的超级胶，可以粘在水面上。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2022, Broadening Participation of Groups Underrepresented in Biology. The Fellowship supports a research and training plan for the Fellow that will increase the participation of groups underrepresented in biology. Spiders build webs using different silk types with distinct functionalities, including strong and tough dragline silk to intercept and stop prey, reusable glue that sticks to prey, and durable attachment disks that anchor silk to substrates. Despite great interest in these properties, spider silk performance, especially in the context of web architecture, is well-studied in few species. Atypical webs in challenging habitats help to reveal how natural selection has modified silks for different applications. This project will advance knowledge of the functional links between silk structure, mechanics and evolutionary ecology, and will expand the range of possible silk applications from single threads to thread networks, as well as glues that could even stick to water surfaces. This study will also prepare the fellow for an independent research career, recruit undergraduate students from underrepresented groups, and will make spider silk research widely accessible to public audiences. Life at the air-water interface is a fundamental challenge for small animals. The spider Wendilgarda clara uses an unusual, reduced, horizontal orb web anchored to the water surface of streams to catch floating prey. Hunting at the water interface potentially requires the evolution of unique architecture and chemistry for attachment discs anchoring to water and the evolution of novel proteins to enable prey capture using single strands of silk in webs. The objectives of this project are: (1) to determine how Wengilgarda webs attach to water through silk chemistry, spigot morphology, and behavior; (2) to understand how silk material properties and web shape interact during prey capture; and (3) to characterize the structure and evolution of Wendilgarda web silk proteins. The work integrates cutting-edge molecular and biomechanics tools to link silk performance from proteins to whole webs in nature. The project broadens participation by recruiting undergraduates from local universities in Massachusetts and Ohio, as well as undergraduate and high school students from public schools in Puerto Rico. Field work, project progress and results will be disseminated by social media and will also promote biomaterial development, since attachment disc silk shows great potential for developing strong, robust superglues that could stick to water surfaces.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.