Biology Department, Gonzaga University, Spokane, WA 99203, USA.
Integr Comp Biol. 2009 Jul;49(1):21-31. doi: 10.1093/icb/icp013. Epub 2009 May 22.
Spider silk is a high-performance biomaterial with exceptional mechanical properties and over half a century of research into its mechanics, structure, and biology. Recent research demonstrates that it is a highly variable class of materials that differs across species and individuals in complex and interesting ways. Here, we review recent literature on mechanical variation and evolution in spider silk. We then present new data on material properties of silk from nine species of spiders in the Mesothelae and Mygalomorphae, the two basal clades of spiders. Silk from spiders in the Araneomorphae (true spiders where most previous research on silk has focused) is significantly stronger and therefore much tougher than the silk produced by spiders in the basal groups. These data support the hypothesis that the success and diversity seen in araneomorph spiders is associated with the evolution of this high-performance fiber. This comparative approach shows promise as a way to understand complex, high-performance biomaterials.
蜘蛛丝是一种具有优异机械性能的高性能生物材料，对其力学、结构和生物学的研究已经超过半个世纪。最近的研究表明，它是一类高度多变的材料，在不同物种和个体之间以复杂而有趣的方式存在差异。在这里，我们回顾了蜘蛛丝机械变异和进化的最新文献。然后，我们展示了来自Mesothelae 和 Mygalomorphae 两个蜘蛛基础分支的 9 种蜘蛛的丝材性能的新数据。来自 Araneomorphae（大多数先前关于丝的研究都集中在这个类群上的真蜘蛛）的蜘蛛丝明显更强，因此比基础群产生的丝坚韧得多。这些数据支持了这样一种假设，即在 Araneomorphae 蜘蛛中看到的成功和多样性与这种高性能纤维的进化有关。这种比较方法显示出作为一种理解复杂的、高性能生物材料的方法很有前途。
