Physicochemical property variation in spider silk: ecology, evolution, and synthetic production

SJ Blamires, TA Blackledge… - Annual review of …, 2017 - annualreviews.org
The unique combination of great stiffness, strength, and extensibility makes spider major
ampullate (MA) silk desirable for various biomimetic and synthetic applications. Intensive …

High-performance spider webs: integrating biomechanics, ecology and behaviour

AMT Harmer, TA Blackledge… - Journal of the …, 2011 - royalsocietypublishing.org
Spider silks exhibit remarkable properties, surpassing most natural and synthetic materials
in both strength and toughness. Orb-web spider dragline silk is the focus of intense research …

Structural optimization of 3D-printed synthetic spider webs for high strength

Z Qin, BG Compton, JA Lewis, MJ Buehler - Nature communications, 2015 - nature.com
Spiders spin intricate webs that serve as sophisticated prey-trapping architectures that
simultaneously exhibit high strength, elasticity and graceful failure. To determine how web …

Bioprospecting finds the toughest biological material: extraordinary silk from a giant riverine orb spider

I Agnarsson, M Kuntner, TA Blackledge - PloS one, 2010 - journals.plos.org
Background Combining high strength and elasticity, spider silks are exceptionally tough, ie,
able to absorb massive kinetic energy before breaking. Spider silk is therefore a model …

Artificial and natural silk materials have high mechanical property variability regardless of sample size

G Greco, H Mirbaha, B Schmuck, A Rising… - Scientific Reports, 2022 - nature.com
Silk fibres attract great interest in materials science for their biological and mechanical
properties. Hitherto, the mechanical properties of the silk fibres have been explored mainly …

The form and function of spider orb webs: evolution from silk to ecosystems

TA Blackledge, M Kuntner, I Agnarsson - Advances in insect physiology, 2011 - Elsevier
Spiders are the preeminent silk craftsmen among arthropods and are best known for
producing aerial orb webs that snare flying insects. Orb web spiders are ubiquitous …

Darwin's bark spider shares a spidroin repertoire with Caerostris extrusa but achieves extraordinary silk toughness through gene expression

N Kono, R Ohtoshi, AD Malay, M Mori… - Open …, 2021 - royalsocietypublishing.org
Spider silk is a protein-based material whose toughness suggests possible novel
applications. A particularly fascinating example of silk toughness is provided by Darwin's …

[HTML][HTML] Mitochondrial phylogenomics provides insights into the phylogeny and evolution of spiders (Arthropoda: Araneae)

M Li, WT Chen, QL Zhang, M Liu, CW Xing… - Zoological …, 2022 - ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Spiders are among the most varied terrestrial predators, with highly diverse morphology,
ecology, and behavior. Morphological and molecular data have greatly contributed to …

Spider orb webs rely on radial threads to absorb prey kinetic energy

AT Sensenig, KA Lorentz, SP Kelly… - Journal of the Royal …, 2012 - royalsocietypublishing.org
The kinetic energy of flying insect prey is a formidable challenge for orb-weaving spiders.
These spiders construct two-dimensional, round webs from a combination of stiff, strong …

Sequential origin in the high performance properties of orb spider dragline silk

TA Blackledge, J Pérez-Rigueiro, GR Plaza, B Perea… - Scientific Reports, 2012 - nature.com
Major ampullate (MA) dragline silk supports spider orb webs, combining strength and
extensibility in the toughest biomaterial. MA silk evolved~ 376 MYA and identifying how …