Chromosome mapping of dragline silk genes in the genomes of widow spiders (Araneae, Theridiidae).

ABSTRACT: With its incredible strength and toughness, spider dragline silk is widely lauded for its impressive material properties. Dragline silk is composed of two structural proteins, MaSp1 and MaSp2, which are encoded by members of the spidroin gene family. While previous studies have characterized the genes that encode the constituent proteins of spider silks, nothing is known about the physical location of these genes. We determined karyotypes and sex chromosome organization for the widow spiders, Latrodectus hesperus and L. geometricus (Araneae, Theridiidae). We then used fluorescence in situ hybridization to map the genomic locations of the genes for the silk proteins that compose the remarkable spider dragline. These genes included three loci for the MaSp1 protein and the single locus for th

SUBMITTER: Zhao Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2943472 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature