Recombinant spider silk
Our recombinant spider silk program aims to create recombinant Masp1 and MaSp2-like proteins to build platforms for making functional materials.
Our recombinant spider silk program aims to create recombinant Masp1 and MaSp2-like proteins to build platforms for making functional materials.
A collaborative project with Niall Doran at the University of Tasmania and Dakota Piorkowski at Tunghai University will investigate the influence of natural history traits on silk properties in a large, ancient, cave-dwelling spider; the Austrachylid, Hickmania troglodytes. For more on an outreach program associated with the cave-dwelling spider, see Niall’s work with Expedition Class…
We are continuing our research of spider sticky thread property variability in orb web spiders and redback spider sticky threads conducting further research into the biochemistry of the different glues and how this affects its variability in response to nutrient deprivation.