Silk-like secretion from tarantula feet
نویسندگان
چکیده
منابع مشابه
Silk secretion from tarantula feet revisited: alleged spigots are probably chemoreceptors.
Controversial views have been expressed about whether tarantula feet can secrete fine silk threads that could prevent them from falling off smooth vertical surfaces. Two studies have claimed that 'ribbed hairs' on the tarsi of tarantulas produce silk. We examined these ribbed hairs in several tarantula species using light and scanning electron microscopy, and compared them with the silk-produci...
متن کاملTarantulas cling to smooth vertical surfaces by secreting silk from their feet.
Like all spiders, tarantulas (family Theraphosidae) synthesize silk in specialized glands and extrude it from spinnerets on their abdomen. In one species of large tarantula, Aphonopelma seemanni, it has been suggested that silk can also be secreted from the tarsi but this claim was later refuted. We provide evidence of silk secretion directly from spigots (nozzles) on the tarsi of three distant...
متن کاملPost-secretion processing influences spider silk performance.
Phenotypic variation facilitates adaptations to novel environments. Silk is an example of a highly variable biomaterial. The two-spidroin (MaSp) model suggests that spider major ampullate (MA) silk is composed of two proteins-MaSp1 predominately contains alanine and glycine and forms strength enhancing β-sheet crystals, while MaSp2 contains proline and forms elastic spirals. Nonetheless, mechan...
متن کاملTarantulas do not shoot silk from their legs: experimental evidence in four species of New World tarantulas.
Theraphosid tarantulas, like all other spiders, secrete silk from spigots on the abdominal spinnerets. A few years ago, it was proposed that the large tarantula Aphonopelma seemanni could extrude silk from specialized spigots on the tarsi to help adhesion to vertical surfaces. This suggestion was later questioned because silk was not observed after the spinnerets had been sealed. Recently, expe...
متن کاملBiosynthesis of an amphiphilic silk-like polymer.
An amphiphilic silk-like protein polymer was efficiently produced in the yeast Pichia pastoris. The secreted product was fully intact and was purified by solubilization in formic acid and subsequent precipitation of denatured host proteins upon dilution with water. In aqueous alkaline solution, the negatively charged acidic polymer assumed extended helical (silk III-like) and unordered conforma...
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ژورنال
عنوان ژورنال: Nature
سال: 2006
ISSN: 0028-0836,1476-4687
DOI: 10.1038/443407a