Chitin in the silk gland ducts of the spider Nephila edulis and the silkworm Bombyx mori.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 24015298.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0073225 and PMC identifier 3756001.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Here we report the detection and localisation of chitin in the cuticle of the spinning ducts of both the spider Nephila edulis and the silkworm Bombyx mori. Our observations demonstrate that the duct walls of both animals contain chitin notwithstanding totally independent evolutionary pathways of the systems. We conclude that chitin may well be an essential component for the construction of spinning ducts; we further conclude that in both species chitin may indicate the evolutionary origin of the spinning ducts.
Medical subject headings
- Biological Evolution
- Bombyx
- Chitin
- Exocrine Glands
- Spiders