In Silico Analysis of a Parasitoid Venom Peptide Reveals Prevalence of the Cation-Polar-Cation Clip Motif in Knottin Proteins.

As generalist parasitoid wasps, are highly successful on many species of fruit flies of the genus . The parasitoids produce specialized multi-strategy extracellular vesicle (EV)-like structures in their venom. Proteomic analysis identified several immunity-associated proteins, including the knottin peptide, LhKNOT, containing the structurally conserved inhibitor cysteine knot (ICK) fold, which is present in proteins from diverse taxa.

Differences in the Elastomeric Behavior of Polyglycine-Rich Regions of Spidroin 1 and 2 Proteins.

Two different polyglycine-rich fragments were selected as representatives of major ampullate gland spidroins (MaSp) 1 and 2 types, and their behavior in a water-saturated environment was simulated within the framework of molecular dynamics (MD). The selected fragments are found in the sequences of the proteins MaSp1a and MaSp2.2a of with respective lengths of 36 amino acids (MaSp1a) and 50 amino acids (MaSp2.

Relating spidroin motif prevalence and periodicity to the mechanical properties of major ampullate spider silks.

Spider dragline fibers exhibit incredible mechanical properties, outperforming many synthetic polymers in toughness assays, and possess desirable properties for medical and other human applications. These qualities make dragline fibers popular subjects for biomimetics research. The enormous diversity of spiders presents both an opportunity for the development of new bioinspired materials and a challenge for the identification of fundamental design principles, as the mechanical properties of dragline fibers show both intraspecific and interspecific variations.