The unique combination of high mechanical strength, extensibility and toughness, and its ability to be synthesized in a benign environment make spider major ampullate (MA) silk a desirable material for a medical and other applications. Despite the effort invested in bioengineering spider silks, a synthetic analog mimicking MA silk in performance is yet to be made. It is becoming clear that spider silk is a highly variable material whose properties are affected by genes as well as the environment acting on the spinning processes via their affects on spider physiology. The environment may further directly adjust the properties of silk post-spinning; how water acts on silk to induce supercontraction is a classic example. We identify variations in prey type, ambient and spider body temperature, wind speed and water availability as environmental variables that have been shown to induce alterations in spider silk performance. How these variables directly induce the appropriate genetic or physiological adaptations are not known, but recent research suggests nutrients such as protein and water availability are important. We propose that understanding the ecophysiological processes affecting spider silk performance is crucial to enable the commercial synthesis of materials mimicking the properties of spider silks. Further, an understanding of these processes may be harnessed in order to create materials that are adaptable and/or resistant to environmental degradation for utilization by the medical industry, or other industries.
Relation:
Ecophysiological influences on spider silk performance and the potential for adaptable, degradation resistant biomaterials: In Silks:Properties, Production and Uses, 133-154
