Abstract
Spiders produce up to six different kinds of silk, each one for a specific biological function. Spider silks are also known for their unique mechanical properties. The possibility of producing new materials with similar properties motivated research on these silk proteins (spidroins). Using expression sequence tags, we identified four spidroins produced by major ampullate, minor ampullate, flagelliform and tubuliform silk glands from the Brazilian spider Nephilengys cruentata (Araneae: Nephilidae). The new protein sequences showed substantial similarity to other spidroins previously described, with high content of alanine and glycine due to the presence of the highly repetitive motifs (polyAla, (GA) n, (GGX) n, (GPGGX) n). Similarities among sequences were also observed between the different spidroins with the exception of tubuliform spidroin, which presents a unique complex amino acid sequence with high amounts of serine and low amounts of glycine.
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