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Sequence Conservation In The C-Terminal Region Of Spider Silk Proteins (Spidroin) From Nephila Clavipes (Tetragnathidae) And Araneus Bicentenarius (Araneidae), Richard D. Beckwitt, Steven Arcidiacono

Richard D Beckwitt

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 …