DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Spider Silk Evolution Across Ancient & Recent Phylogenetic Divergences

论文研究：古代蜘蛛丝的进化

基本信息

批准号：
0910365
负责人：
Cheryl Hayashi
金额：
$ 1.5万
依托单位：
University of California-Riverside
依托单位国家：
美国
项目类别：
Standard Grant
财政年份：
2009
资助国家：
美国
起止时间：
2009-07-01 至 2012-06-30
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0910365&HistoricalAwards=false
关键词：
DISSERTATION RESEARCH Spider Silk Evolution

项目摘要

Silk is essential to the ecology and evolutionary success of spiders. Despite the clear significance of silk to spiders, little is known about how silk genes are shaped over time by natural selection. This project furthers investigation of the evolutionary and functional changes of silks spun by species of the genus Aliatypus. These spiders rely on silk for constructing burrows and trapdoors, without which they could not survive. Silk genes from different Aliatypus species will be sequenced to determine the relationships and rates of change among the genes. These results will reveal how silk evolves among closely-related species and how molecules adapt to local environmental conditions.Due to its extraordinary mechanical properties, spider silk is being used to develop novel biomimetic materials that are tougher than Kevlar but also biodegradable. This research will help bioengineers understand which elements of silk sequences correspond to particular functions or environments. Additionally, understanding the dynamics of silk gene variation has relevance to other repetitive, structural proteins, such as biomedically important collagens, elastins, and amyloids. Furthermore, Starrett will contribute to the cataloging of native fauna in the biologically diverse Southwest and enable undergraduates to gain both field and laboratory research experiences.

丝对于蜘蛛的生态和进化成功至关重要。尽管丝对蜘蛛具有明显的重要性，但人们对丝基因如何通过自然选择随着时间的推移而形成的了解甚少。该项目进一步研究了Aliatypus属物种所纺丝的进化和功能变化。这些蜘蛛依靠丝来建造洞穴和活板门，没有它们它们就无法生存。来自不同Aliatypus物种的丝基因将被测序以确定基因之间的关系和变化率。这些结果将揭示丝如何在密切相关的物种之间进化以及分子如何适应当地的环境条件。由于其非凡的机械性能，蜘蛛丝被用来开发比凯夫拉纤维更坚韧但可生物降解的新型仿生材料。这项研究将帮助生物工程师了解丝序列的哪些元素对应于特定的功能或环境。此外，了解丝基因变异的动态与其他重复结构蛋白有关，例如生物医学上重要的胶原蛋白、弹性蛋白和淀粉样蛋白。此外，施泰力还将为生物多样性丰富的西南部本地动物群的编目做出贡献，并使本科生获得实地和实验室研究经验。