New Mechanisms and Insights into Insect Silk Gland Biology and Silk Production

Dear Colleagues, 

Background and Significance

Insect silk—a natural marvel of strength, elasticity, and biocompatibility—holds transformative potential for biomedicine, sustainable textiles, and advanced composites. Despite this promise, reproducing its properties synthetically remains elusive. Critical knowledge gaps persist in two interconnected domains:

1. Silk Gland Development: It is unclear how developmental signals sculpt silk’s gland structure with cellular specialization across insect species.
2. Silk Protein Synthesis and Processing: The molecular choreography of fibroin/sericin production, modification, storage, and transport is also significant.
   Understanding these mechanisms is essential to bridge the performance gap between natural and artificial silk.

Aims of this Special Issue

This Special Issue, “New Mechanisms and Insights into Insect Silk Gland Biology and Silk Production”, targets unresolved questions in the interface between biology and materials science.

1. Organ Development: Genetic/epigenetic networks guiding silk gland morphogenesis, cell differentiation, and regeneration need to be found.
2. Protein Synthesis Mechanics: Ribosomal dynamics, co-translational folding, and PTMs (e.g., glycosylation, phosphorylation) that dictate silk protein stability need to be ascertained.
3. Secretion and Storage: Mechanisms preventing aggregation in the gland lumen (e.g., chaperones and ion homeostasis) need to be identified.
4. Fiber Spinning Triggers: The role of pH shifts, metal ions, and shear forces in liquid-to-solid transition also needs to be determined.

Impact

This research collection will establish foundational knowledge for designing bioinspired silk systems and advance fields such as regenerative medicine (smart scaffolds) and the effective implementation of a materials circular economy. Insights into organ development and protein synthetic machinery will accelerate breakthroughs in synthetic biology and precision biomaterial engineering.

Dr. Wenliang Qian
Guest Editor

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