Uncovering spider silk nanocrystalline variations that facilitate wind-induced mechanical property changes

Spider major ampullate (MA) silk varies in mechanical properties when spun in different environments. Amino acid compositional changes induced by variations in MaSp1 and MaSp2 expression, and various biochemical and physiological glandular processes induce silk property variability. Quantifying the contributions of these mechanisms on silk variability may facilitate the development of silk biomimetics. Wind is a medium that induces variations in MA silk mechanics. We exposed the spider Cyclosa mulmeinensis to wind and measured the amino acid composition, tensile mechanics, and crystalline structure of its MA silk using HPLC, tensile tests, and X-ray diffraction. We found the mechanical properties of MA silks from spiders exposed to wind to differ from unexposed spiders. The amino acid compositions did not differ, but X-ray diffraction found a lower crystal density and greater β-sheet alignment relative to the fiber axis in the silks of spiders exposed to wind. We found no evidence that the mechanical property variations were a product of profound changes to the alignment of the protein within the amorphous region. We conclude that variations in the density and alignment of the crystalline β-sheets, probably accompanied by some alignment change in the amorphous region as a result of "stretching" during spinning of the silk, probably explains the mechanical property variations that we found across treatment subgroups. As C. mulmeinensis MA silk increases both in strength and elasticity when the spiders are exposed to wind, bioengineers may consider it as a model for the development of high-performance silk biomimetics.