Access
To read this story in full you will need to login or make a payment (see right).
Brief Communications
Nature 443, 407 (28 September 2006) | doi:10.1038/443407a; Received 3 July 2006; Accepted 25 August 2006; Published online 27 September 2006
There is a Brief Communication Arising (22 October 2009) associated with this document.
Open Innovation Challenges
- More Challenges
- Powered by:
nature jobs
Food Chemist & Bioactive Specialist
- Nestle Research Center
- Lausanne Switzerland
Canada Research Chair (Tier 1) Alfred Bader Chair in Organic Chemistry
- Queens University
- Kingston, ON, Canada
Biomaterials: Silk-like secretion from tarantula feet
Stanislav N Gorb1,2, Senta Niederegger1,2,3, Cheryl Y Hayashi4, Adam P Summers2, Walter Vötsch2 & Paul Walther6
Abstract
An unsuspected attachment mechanism may help these huge spiders to avoid catastrophic falls.
Spiders spin silk from specialized structures known as abdominal spinnerets — a defining feature of the creatures1, 2 — and this is deployed to capture prey, protect themselves, reproduce and disperse. Here we show that zebra tarantulas (Aphonopelma seemanni) from Costa Rica also secrete silk from their feet to provide adhesion during locomotion, enabling these spiders to cling to smooth vertical surfaces. Our discovery that silk is produced by the feet provides a new perspective on the origin and diversification of spider silk.
To read this story in full you will need to login or make a payment (see right).
MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS
These links to content published by NPG are automatically generated.
RESEARCH
Molecular nanosprings in spider capture-silk threadsNature Materials Article (01 Apr 2003)
Liquid crystalline spinning of spider silkNature Article (29 Mar 2001)
