Anchor threads can double the insect flight energy absorbed by spider orb webs.

To successfully capture flying insect prey, a spider's orb web must withstand the energy of impact without the silk breaking. In this study, we examined the anchor threads: the silk lines that anchor the main capture area of the web to the surrounding environment. These anchor threads can account for a large portion of the web, yet are usually excluded from experiments and simulations. We compared projectile capture and kinetic energy absorption between webs with and without access to anchor threads. Webs with anchor threads captured significantly more projectiles and absorbed significantly more energy than those with constrained anchors. This is likely because the anchor threads increase web compliance, resulting in webs with the ability to catch high-energy flying insects without breaking. Anchor threads are one example of how different types of web architecture expand the range of possible prey capture strategies by enabling the web to withstand greater impacts.

Correlation between protein secondary structure and mechanical performance for the ultra-tough dragline silk of Darwin's bark spider.

The spider major ampullate (MA) silk exhibits high tensile strength and extensibility and is typically a blend of MaSp1 and MaSp2 proteins with the latter comprising glycine-proline-glycine-glycine-X repeating motifs that promote extensibility and supercontraction. The MA silk from Darwin's bark spider (Caerostris darwini) is estimated to be two to three times tougher than the MA silk from other spider species. Previous research suggests that a unique MaSp4 protein incorporates proline into a novel glycine-proline-glycine-proline motif and may explain C. darwini MA silk's extraordinary toughness. However, no direct correlation has been made between the silk's molecular structure and its mechanical properties for C. darwini. Here, we correlate the relative protein secondary structure composition of MA silk from C. darwini and four other spider species with mechanical properties before and after supercontraction to understand the effect of the additional MaSp4 protein. Our results demonstrate that C. darwini MA silk possesses a unique protein composition with a lower ratio of helices (31%) and ß-sheets (20%) than other species. Before supercontraction, toughness, modulus and tensile strength correlate with percentages of ß-sheets, unordered or random coiled regions and ß-turns. However, after supercontraction, only modulus and strain at break correlate with percentages of ß-sheets and ß-turns. Our study highlights that additional information including crystal size and crystal and chain orientation is necessary to build a complete structure-property correlation model.

Robust Performance of Spider Viscid Silk on Hairy and Smooth Insect Substrates.

Spider viscid silk adheres to insects in orb webs and is a "smart-adhesive" that quickly changes droplet size, viscosity, and adhesiveness in response to atmospheric humidity. Different species of spiders "tune" water uptake to match the humidity of their foraging environments, achieving a similar "universal" viscosity that optimizes tradeoffs in spreading versus cohesive bulk energy needed to enhance adhesion. Too much water lowers viscosity so that the glue spreads well, but cohesive failure occurs easily, generating poor adhesion. However, the optimal viscosity model of adhesion is based on experiments using smooth glass. Here we test the hypothesis that a less viscous, "over-lubricated" glue, which shows poor adhesion on smooth glass, will be stickier on hairy insects because of its greater ability to spread across three-dimensional rough surfaces. We ran adhesion tests of the furrow spider (Larinioides cornutus [Clerck 1757]) viscid silk on honey bee (Apis mellifera) thorax, with and without hairs, in either high or medium humidity. Our results show that "over-lubricated" glue increases adhesion on hairy surfaces, performing equally as well as an optimally viscous glue.

Islands within islands: Diversification of tailless whip spiders (Amblypygi, Phrynus) in Caribbean caves.

Islands have played a key role in understanding species formation ever since Darwin's work on the Galapagos and Wallace's work in the Malay Archipelago. Like oceanic islands, habitat 'islands', such as mountaintops and caves similarly may drive diversification. Here we examine patterns of diversification in the tailless whip spider genus Phrynus Larmarck, 1809 (Amblypygida: Phrynidae) a system that shows evidence of diversification under the influence of 'islands within islands'. We estimate phylogeographic history and measure genetic diversity among representatives of three nominal Phrynus species from epigean and cave systems of Puerto Rico and nearby islands. Data from five loci (mitochondrial 12S, 16S, Cox1; nuclear H3, 28S) were used to generate phylogenetic hypotheses and to assess species monophyly and phylogeographic relationships. Genetic divergences and population limits were estimated and assessed using the Geneious barcoding plugin and the genealogical sorting index. We find that mtDNA sequence divergences within each of the three Phrynus species range between 15% and 20%. Genetic divergence is structured at three spatial scales: among islands in a manner consistent with the GAARlandia hypothesis, among bedrock formations within Puerto Rico, and among caves within these formations. Every isolated cave system contains a unique mtDNA genetic lineage of Phrynus, with divergence among cave systems far exceeding that within. In some localities epigean specimens nest among cave taxa, in others caves are monophyletic. Remarkably, clades that show up to 20% mtDNA sequence divergence show little or no variation in the nuclear markers. We interpret this pattern as resulting from extreme conservation of our nuclear markers rather than male sex-biased dispersal, based on high conservation of 28S and H3 between our individuals and other amblypygid genera that are restricted to Africa. While this study includes but a tiny fraction of Caribbean caves, our findings suggest Phrynus may be much more diverse than hitherto thought, at least in terms of mtDNA diversity, and that the arthropod fauna of caves may represent a dimension of biodiversity that is yet to be discovered in the Caribbean biodiversity hotspot.

Tetracycline resistance genes acquired at birth.

Newborns acquire their first microbiota at birth. Maternal vaginal or skin bacteria colonize newborns delivered vaginally or by C-section, respectively (Dominguez-Bello et al. 2010 #884). We aimed to determine differences in the presence of four tetracycline (tet) resistance genes, in the microbes of ten newborns and in the mouth and vagina of their mothers, at the time of birth. DNA was amplified by PCR with primers specific for [tet(M), tet(O), tet(Q), and tet(W)]. Maternal vaginas harbored all four tet resistance genes, but most commonly tet(M) and tet(O) (63 and 38 %, respectively). Genes coding for tet resistance differed by birth mode, with 50 % of vaginally delivered babies had tet(M) and tet(O) and 16 and 13 % of infants born by C-section had tet(O) and tet(W), respectively. Newborns acquire antibiotic resistance genes at birth, and the resistance gene profile varies by mode of delivery.