Down the aisle – in a genetically modified dress

Silkworms with jellyfish genes have learned to make fluorescent silk

RIA NewsJapanese scientists have developed genetically modified silkworm butterflies, which, thanks to the genes of corals and jellyfish, spin silk glowing in ultraviolet in different colors, according to an article published in the journal Advanced Functional Materials (Tetsuya Iizuka et al., Colored Fluorescent Silk Made by Transgenic Silkworms; a popular retelling with the drawings given here can be read on the website Wired: Mutant Silkworms Spin Fluorescent Silk in 3 Colors – VM).

Toshiki Tamura from the State Institute of Agrobiological Sciences (Japan) and his colleagues have embedded genes that trigger the production of fluorescent molecules into the genomes of silkworms in those areas that are responsible for the synthesis of fibroin. This protein forms the basis of silk threads. Two groups of silkworms received genes of proteins glowing red and orange from mushroom-shaped corals, the third group received genes of green fluorescent proteins from jellyfish. From these silkworms, scientists have received more than 20 thousand individuals of offspring.

Then the researchers faced the task of "unwinding" the cocoons obtained from silkworms. To do this, they are usually heated to 100 degrees Celsius, but fluorescent proteins cannot withstand such a temperature. Therefore, the scientists soaked the cocoons in a weak alkaline solution at a temperature of 60 degrees and placed them in a vacuum so that the cocoons soaked well, softened and were suitable for spinning thread. Since this process is more complicated than the production of ordinary silk, fluorescent fabric will be slightly more expensive, the researchers note.

Japanese designer Yumi Katsura has already made several pieces of clothing from fluorescent silk, including a wedding dress. In visible light, the fabric has a weak shade, it does not lose its properties for more than two years and is only slightly inferior in strength to ordinary silk.

The predecessors of Tamur and his colleagues fed silkworms with dyes to get multicolored silk. Other researchers have altered the genome of the silkworm, forcing it to produce the human protein collagen and spider web. However, despite the fact that the methods of creating transgenic silkworms are known, until now scientists have not been able to change silk proteins in this way.

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru25.06.2013