Identification and dynamics of polyglycine II nanocrystals in Argiope trifasciata flagelliform silk

AbstractAn orb web’s prey capture thread relies on its glue droplets to retain insects until a spider can subdue them. Each droplet’s viscoelastic glycoprotein adhesive core extends to dissipate the forces of prey struggle as it transfers force to stiffer, support line flagelliform fibers. In large orb webs, switchback capture thread turns are placed at the bottom of the web before a continuous capture spiral progresses from the web’s periphery to its interior. To determine if the properties of capture thread droplets change during web spinning, we characterized droplet and glycoprotein volumes and material properties from the bottom, top, middle, and inner regions of webs. Both droplet and glycoprotein volume decreased during web construction, but there was a progressive increase in the glycoprotein’s Young’s modulus and toughness. Increases in the percentage of droplet aqueous material indicated that these increases in material properties are not due to reduced glycoprotein viscosity resulting from lower droplet hygroscopicity. Instead, they may result from changes in aqueous layer compounds that condition the glycoprotein. A 6-fold difference in glycoprotein toughness and a 70-fold difference in Young’s modulus across a web documents the phenotypic plasticity of this natural adhesive and its potential to inspire new materials.

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Behavioral Response of Argiope trifasciata to Recent Foraging Gain: A Manipulative Study

The American Midland Naturalist ◽

10.1674/0003-0031(1999)141[0238:broatt]2.0.co;2 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 141 (2) ◽

pp. 238-246 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

I-Min Tso

Keyword(s):

Behavioral Response ◽

Argiope Trifasciata

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SILK MEDIATED DEFENSE BY AN ORB WEB SPIDER AGAINST PREDATORY MUD-DAUBER WASPS

Behaviour ◽

10.1163/15685390151074357 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 138 (2) ◽

pp. 155-171 ◽

Cited By ~ 47

Author(s):

Todd Blackledge ◽

John Wenzel

Keyword(s):

Web Sites ◽

Predation Pressure ◽

Spider Webs ◽

Web Spider ◽

Orb Web ◽

Argiope Trifasciata

AbstractStabilimenta are zigzag and spiral designs of seemingly conspicuous silk included at the centers of many spider webs. We examined the association of stabilimenta with the ability of spiders to defend themselves against predatory mud-dauber wasps. We found that Argiope trifasciata (Araneae, Araneidae) were significantly more likely to survive attacks by Chalybion caeruleum and Sceliphron caementarium (Hymenoptera, Sphecidae) when spiders included stabilimenta in webs. This association could not be explained by factors such as differences in sizes or conditions of spiders nor locations of webs. We suggest that stabilimenta may function to delay pursuit of spiders as they drop from webs by physically blocking wasps, camouflaging spiders or distracting attacking wasps. Stabilimenta may function in a role very similar to the retreats built by many other genera of spiders and appear to be an adaptation to reduce the predation pressure faced by spiders that have evolved foraging habits at highly exposed diurnal web sites.

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Scalable Spider Silk Inspired Materials with High Extensibility and Super Toughness

Key Engineering Materials ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/kem.893.31 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 893 ◽

pp. 31-35

Author(s):

Jin Lian Hu ◽

Yuan Zhang Jiang ◽

Lin Gu

Keyword(s):

Chemical Synthesis ◽

Spider Silk ◽

Helical Structure ◽

Silk Proteins ◽

Dragline Silk ◽

Spider Dragline Silk ◽

Argiope Trifasciata ◽

Chemical Synthesis Route ◽

Β Sheet ◽

Huge Challenge

Spiders silks have extraordinary strength and toughness simultaneously, thus has become dreamed materials by scientists and industries. Although there have been tremendous attempts to prepare fibers from genetically manufacture spider silk proteins, however, it has been still a huge challenge because of tedious procedure and high cost. Here, a facile spider-silk-mimicking strategy is reported for preparing highly scratchable polymers and supertough fibers from chemical synthesis route. Polymer films with high extensibility (>1200%) and supertough fibers (~387 MJ m-3) are achieved by introducing polypeptides with β-sheet and α-helical structure in polyureathane/urea polymers. Notabley,the toughness of the fiber is more than twice the reported value of a normal spider dragline silk, and comparable with the toughest spider silk, aciniform silk of Argiope trifasciata.

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Protein Composition Correlates with the Mechanical Properties of Spider (Argiope trifasciata) Dragline Silk

Biomacromolecules ◽

10.1021/bm401110b ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 15 (1) ◽

pp. 20-29 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

Mohammad Marhabaie ◽

Thomas C. Leeper ◽

Todd A. Blackledge

Keyword(s):

Mechanical Properties ◽

Protein Composition ◽

Dragline Silk ◽

Argiope Trifasciata

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Phylogeography of the ‘cosmopolitan’ orb-weaver Argiope trifasciata (Araneae: Araneidae)

Biological Journal of the Linnean Society ◽

10.1093/biolinnean/blaa078 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 131 (1) ◽

pp. 61-75

Author(s):

Christoph Abel ◽

Jutta M Schneider ◽

Matjaž Kuntner ◽

Danilo Harms

Keyword(s):

Species Delimitation ◽

Evolutionary History ◽

New World ◽

Phylogenetic Analyses ◽

Single Species ◽

Spider Species ◽

Evolutionary Origins ◽

History Of ◽

Argiope Trifasciata ◽

Species Taxonomy

Abstract Few spider species show truly cosmopolitan distributions. Among them is the banded garden spider Argiope trifasciata, which is reported from six continents across major climatic gradients and geographical boundaries. In orb-weaver spiders, such global distributions might be a result of lively dispersal via ballooning. However, wide distributions might also be artefactual, owing to our limited understanding of species taxonomy. To test the hypothesis that A. trifasciata might be a complex of cryptic species with more limited geographical ranges, we investigated the biogeographical structure and evolutionary history of A. trifasciata through a combination of time-calibrated phylogenetic analyses (57 terminals and three genes), ancestral range reconstruction and species delimitation methods. Our results strongly suggest that A. trifasciata as currently defined is not a single species. Its populations fall into five reciprocally monophyletic clades that are genetically distinct and have evolutionary origins in the Plio-Pleistocene. These clades are confined to East Asia, temperate Australia, Hawaii, the New World and the Old World (Africa and most of the Palaearctic). Our results provide the basis for future investigation of morphological and/or ecological disparity between the populations that are likely to represent species, in addition to examinations of the attributes and dispersal modes of these species.

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