1Institute for Advanced Biosciences, Keio University, Yamagata, Japan.
Spiber Inc, Yamagata, Japan.
Commun Biol. 2019 Apr 29;2:148. doi: 10.1038/s42003-019-0412-8. eCollection 2019.
Arthropod silk is known as a versatile tool, and its variability makes it an attractive biomaterial. is a bagworm moth (Lepidoptera, Psychidae) that uses silk throughout all life stages. Notably, the bagworm-specific uses of silk include larval development in a bag coated with silk and plant materials and the use of silk attachments to hang pupae. An understanding at the molecular level of bagworm silk, which enables such unique purposes, is an opportunity to expand the possibilities for artificial biomaterial design. However, very little is known about the bagworm fibroin gene and the mechanical properties of bagworm silk. Here, we report the bagworm genome, including a silk fibroin gene. The genome is approximately 700 Mbp in size, and the newly found fibroin gene has a unique repetitive motif. Furthermore, a mechanical property test demonstrates a phylogenetic relationship between the unique motif and tensile strength of bagworm silk.
节肢动物丝以其多功能性而闻名，其可变性使其成为一种有吸引力的生物材料。大袋蛾（鳞翅目，蓑蛾科）在其所有生命阶段都使用丝。值得注意的是，大袋蛾特有的丝的用途包括用丝和植物材料包裹的幼虫发育以及用丝附着物悬挂蛹。从分子水平上了解大袋蛾丝，使其具有如此独特的用途，为拓展人工生物材料设计的可能性提供了机会。然而，关于大袋蛾丝纤维蛋白基因和大袋蛾丝的机械性能知之甚少。在这里，我们报告了大袋蛾的基因组，包括丝纤维蛋白基因。该基因组大小约为 700Mb，新发现的丝纤维蛋白基因具有独特的重复基序。此外，机械性能测试表明，独特基序与大袋蛾丝的拉伸强度之间存在系统发育关系。
