A silkworm with a spider gene was able to weave a super-strong material

Chinese scientists from Dunhua University have managed to create bionic silkworms with spider genes that spin fibers 6 times stronger than Kevlar. This type of fiber could be used as surgical suture materials, meeting a global demand of more than 300 million procedures per year.

The researchers focused on a small protein from Araneus ventricosus, a spider found in East Asia. Using CRISPR-Cas9, the MiSp protein was inserted into the mulberry silkworm's DNA in place of the gene that encodes its main protein. The resulting fibers exceeded expectations: they combined a high tensile strength of 1,299 MPa and an impact strength of 319 MJ/m3. Not only that, the fibers were much more flexible than expected, as the MiSp protein is known for producing strong but not elastic silk.

The new fibers have broad commercial potential, including in the production of smart materials for aerospace technology, biomedical engineering and clothing. Next, the team plans to develop genetically modified mulberry silkworms that will produce spider silk fibers from natural and artificial amino acids.