University of Wyoming Researchers Engineer Silkworms to Produce Stronger Silk
Genetically engineered silkworms including this one produced silk that was much stronger than regular silkworm silk. University of Wyoming researchers developed the genetic sequences to alter the silkworms, which were housed at a University of Notre Dame laboratory. (Malcolm Fraser, University of Notre Dame)
Working with colleagues at the University of Notre Dame and Zhejiang University in China, UW researchers have genetically engineered silkworms to spin silk containing spider silk proteins. Those fibers are stronger than fibers normally spun by silkworms and almost as tough as spider silk.
The team’s research was publicized in the Jan. 3 edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, one of the world’s top scientific journals. The successful genetic engineering of silkworms has attracted worldwide media attention.
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