Spiber has recently participated in a project to compile a comprehensive database of the protein gene sequences that make up spider silk and their physical properties as fibers. The project was promoted by an international joint research group led by Professor Kazuharu Arakawa (Institute for Advanced Biosciences, Keio University) and Team Leader Keiji Numata (Biopolymer Research Team, RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science/Professor at Kyoto University’s Graduate School of Engineering).

Analysis of obtained amino acid sequence information and physical properties were used by researchers to investigate both the types of spider fiber proteins that constitute spider silk as well as the effects of protein motifs on the physical properties of silk fibers. The results of this research were published in the scientific journal Science Advances (October 12, 2022). The database created by this project will be made publicly available as the Spider Silkome Database.

The Spider Silkome Database and the results of this project are expected to serve as the basis for further discoveries regarding natural structural proteins whose mechanisms have not yet been clarified in detail, and to accelerate basic research that will drive development of new protein materials. In the future, the database is expected to contribute to the creation of open innovation in academia and industry. Moving forward, Spiber will continue to play a central role in this research project and make further efforts to promote the research, development, and diffusion of structural protein materials in society.

Details can be found here. (Japanese only)