Sequence Conservation in the C-terminal region of spider silk proteins (Spidroin) from Nephila clavipes (Tetragnathidae) and Araneus bicentenarius (Araneidae)

摘要

The Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) has been used to amplify the portion of the Spidroin 1 gene that codes for the C-terminal part of the silk protein of the spider Nephila clavipes. Along with some substitution mutations of minor consequence, the PCR-derived sequence reveals an additional base missing from the previously published Nephila Spidroin 1 sequence. Comparison of the PCR-derived sequence with the equivalent region of Spidroin 2 indicates that the insertion of this single base results in greatly increased similarity in the resulting amino acid sequences of Spidroin 1 and Spidroin 2 (75% over 97 amino acids). The same PCR primers also amplified a fragment of the same length from Araneus bicentenarius. This sequence is also very similar to Spidroin 1 of Nephila (71% over 238 bases excluding the PCR primers, which translates into 76% over 79 amino acids).