World's first gene-edited spiders spin red silk

World's first gene-edited spiders spin red silk

Scientists have bred spiders that weave red draglines, proving that the animals’ silk can be genetically re-engineered.

Spider silk is an interesting natural fibre for researchers. Now a team from the University of Bayreuth has used the CRISPR-Cas9 gene shears in the animals, so that their offspring produce red fluorescent spider silk. What's behind it? read more on t3n.de

Researchers at the University of Bayreuth's Department of Biomaterials have successfully used the CRISPR-Cas9 "gene scissors" on spiders for the first time. After gene editing, the spiders produced red fluorescent spider silk. The researchers report their results in the journal Angewandte Chemie.