DATE: March 29, 2007

CONTACT: William Marcotte, (864) 656-0119
marcotw@clemson.edu

WRITER: Peter Kent, (864) 650-7899
pkent@clemson.edu

EXPERT: William Marcotte

Spider silk has use in medicine

CLEMSON — A Clemson University researcher has been awarded a grant to further his study of how to produce synthetic spider silk that could be used to repair the human body.

William Marcotte, an associate professor in genetics and biochemistry, received $150,000 from the National Institutes of Health to investigate how to insert a spider’s silk-making genes into plants. The dragline silk of Nephila clavipes — the golden orb weaver spider — is the model for the study.

Spider dragline silk is a strong, elastic, waterproof, stretchable, biodegradable protein fiber. These properties make it ideally suited for many biomedical applications, such as biodegradable sutures and cell scaffolds for tissue engineering.

The team project involves researchers in various Clemson departments -- genetics, biochemistry, bioengineering and materials science. Marcotte’s part is to produce the fiber-forming, protein polymers by transferring recombinant silk genes into yeast and plants. The group also seeks to understand spider silk production to develop a way of protein fiber spinning.

Unlike silkworm cultivation, spider farming is unrealistic because of low silk yields and territorial behavior. Other research groups have tried to produce spider silk genes in a variety of hosts, but plant systems look to be more promising. Marcotte considers tobacco a good candidate for carrying the spider genes. That’s good news for growers who could benefit from a new use for their crops.

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Editor’s note: For more information about biomimetic manufacturing of fibers, go to http://hubcap.clemson.edu/~ellisom/biomimeticmaterials/files/introduction.htm.