How spiders enmesh their prey: The NMR spectroscopic determination of the C-terminal non-repeat domain of Araneus diadematus fibroin 3 (ADF-3), a spider silk protein, was recently reported. At the same time, the X-ray structure determination of the N-terminal non-repeat domain was reported. Both structures provide key insights into fiber formation upon shear stress and pH changes, including the templating effect on fiber morphology.
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Silvers et al. (2010) studied this question.
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