Flagelliform or coronata glands of Nephila clavipes.

Abstract

The flagelliform or coronata glands of the orb-web spider, Nephila clavipes, have been studied and compared to other silk-producing glands from the organism. The glands, which produce silk for the double filament of the core thread in the sticky spiral, exhibit three distinct morphological areas: tail, sac, and duct. Electrophoretic separation of the solubilized contents of the glands yields an uppermost diffuse band of high molecular size, preceded by a stepladder of well-defined peptides, which have been shown to be products of discontinuous translation in three other sets of glands. The luminal contents do not migrate as a discrete and well-defined band as those of the other glands, but rather as a diffuse area, typical of glycosylated proteins. Fibroin synthesis is stimulated by the mechanical depletion of the organism's stored silks, as in other Nephila glands, judged by the increased intensity of the bands and also by the structural alterations seen in cross sections of the glands' tails.