title: Synthetic spider silk: a modular fiber.
abstract: Spiders make their webs and perform a wide range of tasks with up to seven different types of silk fiber. These different fibers allow a comparison of structure with function, because each silk has distinct mechanical properties and is composed of peptide modules that confer those properties. By using genetic engineering to mix the modules in specific proportions, proteins with defined strength and elasticity can be designed, which have many potential medical and engineering uses.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, University of Wyoming, University Station, Box 3944, Laramie, WY 82071, USA.
authors.forename: M B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Hinman
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: R V
authors.initials: RV
authors.lastname: Lewis
mesh_terms: D020816:Amino Acid Motifs / Q000235:genetics; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000138:chemical synthesis; D005813:Genes, Synthetic; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D014176:Protein Biosynthesis; D011506:Proteins / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics; D020449:Repetitive Sequences, Amino Acid; D013112:Spiders / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D018076:DNA, Complementary; C404864:FLAG protein, Nephila; D011506:Proteins