Biologists Engineer Spiders to Spin Glowing Red Silk

Researchers have, for the first time ever, used CRISPR gene editing on spiders. While the genetically-modified critters lack the ability to give you spidey senses, they do spin glowing silk. In a study published in the journal Angewandte Chemie, researchers at the University of Bayreuth created the world’s first CRISPR-modified spiders, some of which produced red fluorescent silk, and some of which had no eyes. CRISPR-Cas9 is a powerful gene editing system that has revolutionized our ability to treat disease and probe the human genome. CRISPR has been used to edit the genomes of animals, plants, and microbes, and now, a species of common house spider (Parasteatoda tepidariorum). Genetically modifying arachnids posed a unique set of challenges. A lot of spiders like to eat each other, so breeding them can be, well, tough. They also have very complex genomes—which were duplicated early in spider evolution. After some early failed attempts, the researchers settled on injecting the CRI ... Read full article.