Did aculeate silk evolve as an antifouling material?

Many of the challenges we currently face as an advanced society have been solved in unique ways by biological systems. One such challenge is developing strategies to avoid microbial infection. Social aculeates (wasps, bees and ants) mitigate the risk of infection to their colonies using a wide range...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2018-09, Vol.13 (9), p.e0203948-e0203948
Main Authors: Sutherland, Tara D, Sriskantha, Alagacone, Rapson, Trevor D, Kaehler, Benjamin D, Huttley, Gavin A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adaptation
Advantages
Antifouling
Antifouling substances
Antiinfectives and antibacterials
Antimicrobial activity
Antimicrobial agents
Antimicrobial peptides
Bees
Biofouling
Biological systems
Biology and Life Sciences
Biomaterials
Biomedical materials
Colonies
Evolution
Extracellular matrix
Genes
Health risks
Hygiene
Infections
Insects
Medicine and Health Sciences
Microbial insecticides
Microorganisms
Pathogens
Peptides
Physical Sciences
Proteins
Research and Analysis Methods
Silk
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Summary:Many of the challenges we currently face as an advanced society have been solved in unique ways by biological systems. One such challenge is developing strategies to avoid microbial infection. Social aculeates (wasps, bees and ants) mitigate the risk of infection to their colonies using a wide range of adaptations and mechanisms. These adaptations and mechanisms are reliant on intricate social structures and are energetically costly for the colony. It seems likely that these species must have had alternative and simpler mechanisms in place to ensure the maintenance of hygienic domicile conditions prior to the evolution of these complex behaviours. Features of the aculeate coiled-coil silk proteins are reminiscent of those of naturally occurring α-helical antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). In this study, we demonstrate that peptides derived from the aculeate silk proteins have antimicrobial activity. We reconstruct the predicted ancestral silk sequences of an aculeate ancestor that pre-dates the evolution of sociality and demonstrate that these ancestral sequences also contained peptides with antimicrobial properties. It is possible that the silks evolved as an antifouling material and facilitated the evolution of sociality. These materials serve as model materials for consideration in future biomaterial development.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0203948