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The tissue‐specific fibroin product of the large ampullate glands of the spider Nephila clavipes was isolated and analyzed with respect to homogeneity and size. The solubilized luminar contents of the glands migrate as a homogeneous band in SDS electrophoresis. Its molecular mass has been estimated to be approximately 323,600 daltons. Excised glands have been manintained metabolically active under rather simple culture conditions. Protein synthesis, monitored by incorporation of labeled alanine and glycine, has been elicited through exposure to a cholinergic agent in the culture medium as well as by depleting the animals of their store of silks.
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Candelas et al. (1981) studied this question.
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