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Yu Y, Chen K, Wang J, Zhang Z, Hu B, Liu X, Lin Z, Tan A. Custom-designed, mass silk production in genetically engineered silkworms. PNAS Nexus 2024; 3:pgae128. [PMID: 38562581 PMCID: PMC10983830 DOI: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgae128] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2024] [Accepted: 03/14/2024] [Indexed: 04/04/2024]
Abstract
Genetically engineered silkworms have been widely used to obtain silk with modified characteristics especially by introducing spider silk genes. However, these attempts are still challenging due to limitations in transformation strategies and difficulties in integration of the large DNA fragments. Here, we describe three different transformation strategies in genetically engineered silkworms, including transcription-activator-like effector nuclease (TALEN)-mediated fibroin light chain (FibL) fusion (BmFibL-F), TALEN-mediated FibH replacement (BmFibH-R), and transposon-mediated genetic transformation with the silk gland-specific fibroin heavy chain (FibH) promoter (BmFibH-T). As the result, the yields of exogenous silk proteins, a 160 kDa major ampullate spidroin 2 (MaSp2) from the orb-weaving spider Nephila clavipes and a 226 kDa fibroin heavy chain protein (EvFibH) from the bagworm Eumeta variegate, reach 51.02 and 64.13% in BmFibH-R transformed cocoon shells, respectively. Moreover, the presence of MaSp2 or EvFibH significantly enhances the toughness of genetically engineered silk fibers by ∼86% in BmFibH-T and ∼80% in BmFibH-R silkworms, respectively. Structural analysis reveals a substantial ∼40% increase in fiber crystallinity, primarily attributed to the presence of unique polyalanines in the repetitive sequences of MaSp2 or EvFibH. In addition, RNA-seq analysis reveals that BmFibH-R system only causes minor impact on the expression of endogenous genes. Our study thus provides insights into developing custom-designed silk production using the genetically engineered silkworm as the bioreactor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ye Yu
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Sericultural Biology and Biotechnology, School of Biotechnology, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang 212100, China
- Key Laboratory of Silkworm and Mulberry Genetic Improvement, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Sericultural Scientific Research Center, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Zhenjiang 212100, China
| | - Kai Chen
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Sericultural Biology and Biotechnology, School of Biotechnology, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang 212100, China
- Key Laboratory of Silkworm and Mulberry Genetic Improvement, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Sericultural Scientific Research Center, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Zhenjiang 212100, China
| | - Jingxia Wang
- School of Life Sciences, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Function and Application of Biological Macromolecular Structures, School of Life Sciences, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
| | - Zhongjie Zhang
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Sericultural Biology and Biotechnology, School of Biotechnology, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang 212100, China
- Key Laboratory of Silkworm and Mulberry Genetic Improvement, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Sericultural Scientific Research Center, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Zhenjiang 212100, China
| | - Bo Hu
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Sericultural Biology and Biotechnology, School of Biotechnology, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang 212100, China
- Key Laboratory of Silkworm and Mulberry Genetic Improvement, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Sericultural Scientific Research Center, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Zhenjiang 212100, China
| | - Xiaojing Liu
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Sericultural Biology and Biotechnology, School of Biotechnology, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang 212100, China
- Key Laboratory of Silkworm and Mulberry Genetic Improvement, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Sericultural Scientific Research Center, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Zhenjiang 212100, China
| | - Zhi Lin
- School of Life Sciences, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Function and Application of Biological Macromolecular Structures, School of Life Sciences, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
| | - Anjiang Tan
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Sericultural Biology and Biotechnology, School of Biotechnology, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang 212100, China
- Key Laboratory of Silkworm and Mulberry Genetic Improvement, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Sericultural Scientific Research Center, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Zhenjiang 212100, China
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