Spidroin
Spidroins are the main proteins in spider silk. Different types of spider silk contain different spidroins, all of which are members of a single protein family. The most-researched type of spidroins are the major ampullate silk proteins (MaSp) used in the construction of dragline silk, the strongest type of spider silk. Dragline silk fiber is made up of two types of spidroins, spidroin-1 (MaSp1) and spidroin-2 (MaSp2).
| Spidroin, N-terminal | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Identifiers | |||||||||
| Symbol | Spidroin_N | ||||||||
| Pfam | PF16763 | ||||||||
| InterPro | IPR031913 | ||||||||
| CATH | 2lpj | ||||||||
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| Spidroin, C-terminal | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Identifiers | |||||||||
| Symbol | Spidroin_MaSp | ||||||||
| Pfam | PF11260 | ||||||||
| InterPro | IPR021001 | ||||||||
| CATH | 2m0m | ||||||||
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| Spidroin-1 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Identifiers | |||||||
| Organism | |||||||
| Symbol | ? | ||||||
| UniProt | P19837 | ||||||
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| Spidroin-2 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Identifiers | |||||||
| Organism | |||||||
| Symbol | ? | ||||||
| UniProt | P46804 | ||||||
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Spidroin is part of a large group of proteins called scleroproteins. This group includes other insoluble structural proteins such as collagen and keratin.
A fiber of dragline spidroin is as thick and resistant as one of steel but is more flexible. It can be stretched to approximately 135% of its original length without breaking. Its properties make it an excellent candidate for use in various scientific fields.