Sperm cell development in spider species undergoes in testicular cyst, containing certain number of cells per cyst. As a germ cell matures through entire stages of spermatogenesis, testicular cysts rupture and produced spermatozoa are transferred in a form of cleistosperm. When mature spermatozoa pass through deferent duct, it is known that various types of seminal secretions are released into the lumen to provide auxillary functions to the mature sperms – such as nutrition, protection, or sperm release inside the female body. However, a peculiar type of seminal secretion was observed in this study. In the lumen of deferent duct, encapsulated seminal secretions are observed along with coiled sperm cells. Since the capsule is quite thick – as thick as the one of mature sperm cell, it is thought that the secretion capsule would be transferred as well along with the sperm cells into the spermathecae probably activiating sperm cells through decapsulation. Also, this study revealed that sperm storage in deferent duct occurs in droplet-by-droplet basis; which suggests possible sperm inducing mechanism. Since spider uses pedipalps in copulation to transfer its sperm cells, spider has to fill it accordingly. In other words, stored sperms in deferent duct are released in a droplet at once.

Spider silks hold great potential as biomaterials with extraordinary properties. Here we report cloning and characterization of the major ampullate silk protein gene from the spider Araneus ventricosus. A cDNA coding for the partial major ampullate silk protein (AvMaSp) was cloned from A. ventricosus. Analysis of the cDNA sequence shows that AvMaSp consists of 240 amino acids of a repetitive region and 99 amino acids of a C-terminal non-repetitive domain. The peptide motifs found in spider major ampullate silk proteins, (A)n, (GA)n, and (GGX)n, were conserved in the repetitive region of AvMaSp. Phylogenetic analysis further confirmed that AvMaSp belongs to the spider major ampullate spidroin proteins. The AvMaSp-R cDNA, which contains sequences encoding for 240 amino acids of a repetitive domain, was expressed as a 22 kDa polypeptide of soluble form in baculovirus-infected insect cells. Recombinant AvMaSp-R was degraded abruptly by trypsin. However, AvMaSp-R was stable at 100 °C for at least 30 min. Additionally, the AvMaSp-R was stable at various pH values from 2 to 12 for at least 1 h. Taken together, our findings provide the molecular structure and biochemical property for A. ventricosus major ampullate silk protein as a biomaterial.

Fibroin silk proteins from spider or silkworm are attractive biomaterials that are of particular biotechnological interest for industrial and medical purposes because of their unique physical and mechanical properties. In this study, we generated and characterized the transgenic rice plant expressing a spider silk protein. Spider silks have great potential as biomaterials with extraordinary properties. Here, we report the cloning and characterization of the major ampullate silk protein gene from the spider Araneus ventricosus. A cDNA encoding the partial major ampullate silk protein (AvMaSp) was cloned from A. ventricosus. An analysis of the cDNA sequence shows that AvMaSp consists of a 240 amino acid repetitive region and a 99 amino acid C-terminal non-repetitive domain. The peptide motifs that were found in the spider major ampullate silk proteins, (A)n, (GA)n, and (GGX)n, were conserved in the repetitive region of AvMaSp. Phylogenetic analysis further confirmed that AvMaSp belongs to the spider major ampullate spidroin family of proteins. Recombinant AvMaSp-R was degraded abruptly by trypsin. However, AvMaSp-R was stable at 100 °C for at least 30 min. Additionally, the AvMaSp-R was stable at pH values from 2 to 12 for at least 1 h. Taken together, our findings describe the molecular structure and biochemical properties of the A. ventricosus major ampullate silk protein and demonstrate its potential as a biomaterial.

In this study, we generated and characterized the transgenic rice plant expressing a spider silk protein. Spider silks have great potential as biomaterials with extraordinary properties. We report the cloning and characterization of the major ampullate silk protein gene from the spider Araneus ventricosus. A cDNA encoding the partial major ampullate silk protein (AvMaSp) was cloned from A. ventricosus. An analysis of the cDNA sequence shows that AvMaSp consists of a 240 amino acid repetitive region and a 99 amino acid C-terminal non-repetitive domain. The peptide motifs that were found in the spider major ampullate silk proteins, (A)n, (GA)n, and (GGX)n, were conserved in the repetitive region of AvMaSp. Phylogenetic analysis further confirmed that AvMaSp belongs to the spider major ampullate spidroin family of proteins. The AvMaSp-R cDNA, which encodes the 240 amino acid repetitive domain, was expressed as a soluble 22 kDa polypeptide in baculovirus-infected insect cells. To produce transgenic rice plant with high contents of glycine and alanine, the prolamin promoter-driven AvDrag was introduced into rice plant via agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated gene transformation. The introduction and copy number of the AvDrag gene in transgenic rice plants were determined by PCR and Southern blot analysis. AvDrag expression in transgenic rice seeds was examined by Northern blot and Western blot analysis. Immunofluorescence staining with the AvDrag antiserum revealed that the recombinant AvDrag protein were localized in transgenic rice seed. Furthermore, the amino acid content analysis showed that transgenic rice seeds were greatly increased in glycine and alanine as compared to controls

In this study, we generated and characterized the transgenic rice plant expressing a spider silk protein. A cDNA coding for the C-terminus of spider silk protein (AvMaSp) was cloned from the spider Araneus ventricosus. Analysis of the cDNA sequence shows that the C-terminus of AvMaSp consists of 165 amino acids of are petitive region and 99 amino acids of a C-terminalnon-repetitive region. The peptide motifs found in spider silk proteins, GGX and An, were conserved in the repetitive region of AvDrag. The AvMaSp cDNA was expressed as a 28kDa polypeptide in baculovirus-infected insect cells. To produce transgenic rice plant with high contents of glycine and alanine, the prolamin promoter-driven AvMaSp was introduced into rice plant via Agrobacteriumtumefaciens-mediated gene transformation. Because of seeds pecific prolamin promoter, expression of AvMaSp protein has been achieved inriceseed. The introduction and copy number of the AvMaSp gene in transgenic rice plants were determined by PCR and Southern blot analysis. AvMaSp expression in transgenic rice seeds was examined by Northern blot and Western blot analysis. Immuno fluorescence staining with the AvMaSpantiserum revealed that the recombinant AvMaSp proteins were localized in transgenic rice seeds. Furthermore, the amino acid content analysis showed that transgenic rice seeds were greatly increased in glycine and alanine as compared to controls. The present study is the first to show the expression of spider silk protein in rice seed.