Genomic Profiling of Spider Silk Glands Across Development and Evolution
Abstract
The objective of this research is to examine the optimization of silk synthesis in evolutionary divergent spider species. The investigators will investigale ampullate silk glands in evolutionary dh ergent species. the western black widow and the marbled cellar spider. They will define the stages in spider development that are essential for silk production. They will prolile genome activitity during silk gland development. They will identify potential targets for genetic engineering dragline silks and silk glands. In the lirst year. key stages in each species will be identified during silk gland ontogeny by imaging the external and internal development of embryonic and juvenile spiders. The targeted developmental stages will be the onset or ampullate silk gland formation. transformation into ampule shapes and silk secretion. In the second year, deep sequencing of gene expression libraries. transeriptome assembly. and difforential gene expression studies will be exploited to identify genes that arc associated with each targeted stage. Evolutionary relationships and functions of promising genes will be derived from computational analyses with databases of previously described eukaryotic genes. In the third year, research will characterize the temporal and spatial expression patterns of candidate genes identified in the second year. Localization will be determined using Western and Northern blots, and in situ hybridization and antibody stains.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Jan 12, 2017
- Source ID
- W911NF1510099
Entities
People
- Cheryl Y. Hayashi
Organizations
- Army Contracting Command
- United States Army
- University of California, Riverside