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REVIEW article

Front. Arachn. Sci.
Sec. Arachnid Genetics and Biomaterials
Volume 3 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/frchs.2024.1488680
This article is part of the Research Topic Horizons in Arachnid Science View all 6 articles

Biochemical Methods for Producing and Characterizing Recombinant Spider Silks

Provisionally accepted
  • 1 University of New South Wales, Kensington, Australia
  • 2 King's College London, London, England, United Kingdom
  • 3 Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Here we review the processes involved in producing and assessing the quality of recombinant spider silk proteins (spidroins) and the challenges associated with their synthesis and spinning into robust fibres. We overview the techniques used to produce the proteins, from gene synthesis to expression in various host organisms. Evidence suggests that the N-and C-terminal regions of spidroins are of utmost importance for fibre assembly and the repetitive domain are responsible for the unique mechanical properties in both native and recombinant versions of spider silks. We describe the role of liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) in spidroin assembly and its importance in subsequent fibre formation. Recent developments in recombinant spidroin production and co-expression strategies for improving yield and scalability are highlighted. Techniques such as mass photometry and size exclusion chromatography (SEC) for analysing protein purity and assembly behaviour are thereupon detailed. Finally, we address the role that predictive computational methods are playing in the future of designing novel and high-performing materials inspired by spidroins.

    Keywords: Recombinant spider silk, Spidroin synthesis, Fibre assembly, Liquid-liquid phase separation, predictive computational model

    Received: 30 Aug 2024; Accepted: 16 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Blamires, Maraldo, Torpey, Evans, Rawal, Yarger, Isaacson and Marquis. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Sean J Blamires, University of New South Wales, Kensington, Australia

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.