On the dynamic caddisfly silk H-fibroin gene: a population study in a net-spinning species

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ID: 315630
2026
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Abstract
Larvae of the caddisfly Arctopsyche grandis BANKS build protective structures and spin silken capture nets in flowing water. Caddisfly H-fibroin, the major protein component of its silk fibers, has a blocky structure with repeating units defined as beginning with a [(SX)nE]m region followed by a G-rich spacer. Previous observation of H-fibroin allelic variation in haploid-resolved individuals led us to investigate allelic variation within two geographically close but separated natural populations of A. grandis. The genomes of 18 individuals were sequenced, and 34 haploid-resolved H-fibroin sequences were extracted. Twenty-four unique alleles were identified in 18 genomes, revealing the dynamic nature of the H-fibroin gene. H-fibroin length variations of at up to 25% were tolerated. The major source of the length variations were large-scale deletions and insertions of entire [(SX)nE]m blocks. Small scale indel events were numerous, non-randomly distributed, and constrained to a few types. One, a 44 residue indel comprising two (SX)nE motifs changed m ± 2 by splitting direct tandem repeats without disrupting tertiary structure or block boundaries. The G-rich spacers are of two types, the first distinguished by repeating GLGPH pentapeptides. Indels within this spacer type occur as multiples of the GLGPH pentapeptide. The other category of G-rich spacer was confined to a narrow length distribution. Overall, the results demonstrate the rapid evolution of the caddisfly H-fibroin gene and the wide range of H-fibroin structural polymorphism tolerated in functional capture net silk. At the same time, the limited nature of the indels point to the critical structural features of H-fibroin.
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Authors Russell J. Stewart, Ashlyn Powell, Jacqueline Heckenhauer, Steffen U. Pauls, Gabriela Jijón, Samantha Standring, Cheryl Y. Hayashi, Richard H. Baker, Paul B. Frandsen
Journal molecular biology and evolution
Year 2026
DOI
10.1093/molbev/msag132
URL
https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msag132
Keywords Keywords not found

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