Spider silk made by photosynthetic bacteria:
The CSRS team focused on the marine photosynthetic bacterium Rhodovulum sulfidophilum. This bacterium is ideal for establishing a sustainable bio-factory because it grows in seawater, requires carbon dioxide and nitrogen in the atmosphere, and uses solar energy, all of which are abundant and inexhaustible.
The researchers genetically engineered the bacterium to produce MaSp1 protein, the main component of the Nephila spider dragline which is thought to play an important role in the strength of the spider silk. Optimization of the gene sequence that they inserted into the bacterium's genome was able to maximize the amount of silk that could be produced. They also found that a simple recipe—artificial seawater, bicarbonate salt, nitrogen gas, yeast extract, and irradiation with near-infrared light—allows R. sulfidophilum to grow well and produce the silk protein efficiently. Further observations confirmed that the surface and internal structures of the fibers produced in the bacteria were very similar to those produced naturally by spiders.
Journal Reference:
Choon Pin Foong, Mieko Higuchi-Takeuchi, Ali D. Malay, et al. A marine photosynthetic microbial cell factory as a platform for spider silk production [open], Communications Biology (DOI: 10.1038/s42003-020-1099-6)
Previous attempts to manufacture spider silk involved genetically engineering goats to produce it in their milk.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 09 2020, @01:29AM (3 children)
Gotta love science with practical applications.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 09 2020, @02:59AM (2 children)
Practical applications...
Spider-man costumes and Kinky handcuffs
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Thursday July 09 2020, @06:00AM (1 child)
And space elevator if you can organize the hydroponics in space (grin)
(I grinned, stop being pedantic)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by Immerman on Thursday July 09 2020, @01:12PM
Sadly not. Last I checked, carbon nanotubes have a much better strength-to-weight ratio than spider silk, and even those aren't nearly strong enough to build a space elevator with an adequate safety margin (though assuming flawless construction they are strong enough to do the job in theory, barely)
Even worse, this isn't actually spider silk. It's one spider silk protein, which must still be spun into silk. Unfortunately spider silk gets much of its strength from the intricate shaping by the spider's spinnerets, and I haven't heard of anyone making artificial spinnerets that even remotely approach the effectiveness of a spider's. I'm also pretty sure the Golden Orb Weavers (Nephilia) aren't even in the running for strongest spider silk to begin with, though it is very pretty.
Could still be great for strong and beautiful fabric though, and possibly medical implants (as I recall spider silk is good for bio-integration)
(Score: 1) by RandomFactor on Thursday July 09 2020, @02:26AM (2 children)
What if you took some of that goat milk, and made cheese using those bacteria...
В «Правде» нет известий, в «Известиях» нет правды
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 09 2020, @03:01AM
Combining goats milk, cheese, and bacteria... Weinstein!
(Score: 3, Funny) by Phoenix666 on Thursday July 09 2020, @01:22PM
Roughly the same thing would happen as eating at a roadside stand outside Shanghai, or a taco truck in Jersey.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2, Informative) by gmby on Thursday July 09 2020, @02:49AM (7 children)
Great, our oceans will be plugged up with spider goo.
I think the first thing the DNA hackers of the world need to do; is make kill switches in the bugs they play with. Auto off functions so without a key doohickey (or two) it wont grow. That way if it gets away then it'll die off.
Oh wait... "life will find away.."
On the other-hand... I look forward to walking on spider silk covered water.
Bye
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Thursday July 09 2020, @06:14AM (6 children)
From TFA:
That goo has lotsa energy in it so:
1. whatever organism that produces it for no survival related purposes will need special care to survive. Get it out in the open and it won't survive competition while still continuing to produce silk
2. anything with lotsa energy in it is going to act as food for other organisms.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by sonamchauhan on Thursday July 09 2020, @06:37AM (2 children)
Good first point, but regarding the second....
(Score: 2) by sonamchauhan on Thursday July 09 2020, @06:41AM (1 child)
(Ah, submitted instead of previewed)
...or the bacterial organism may find itself using colonies and biofilm-like structures, that in combination with spider silk, entrap other organisms so the bacteria can feed off their bicarbonate stores.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by c0lo on Thursday July 09 2020, @07:01AM
The life of biofilm forming μorganisms is hard, they need a stable, steady surface to attach to or float on.
It may work inside a stagnant pond, but I'm afraid they'll find the oceans a bit tough. Not even the more robust Sargassum [wikipedia.org] managed to form a compact colony.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 09 2020, @03:40PM (2 children)
>> In addition to being tough and lightweight, silks derived from arthropod species are biodegradable and biocompatible
So are Muslims, yet they're clogging up many inner cities.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 09 2020, @03:48PM (1 child)
Any one of them is more intelligent than you, so make room for your superiors, shitheat.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 09 2020, @08:41PM
That might have made sense if we were talking about Chinamen. But jihadis?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 09 2020, @08:57PM
When this topic comes up, I always remember when I first moved in to my current place. I heard what sounded like scratching. My first thought was, "uh-oh, I've got mice in the walls". Then I realized that it seemed unlikely the mouse would be scratching that much in one spot. Eventually I figured out the scratching was coming from outside. Several oak leaves were suspended by spider silk, and the wind was scraping them against the side of the house. Cleaning these web-leaf combos away from the house is now routine maintenance around here. Those webs are strong enough to hold the leaves through all but the strongest of winds and rain. If I didn't clean them, that annoying scratch would always be here.