Protein folding, translocation, oligomeric rearrangement and degradation are vital functions to obtain correctly folded proteins in any cell. The constitutive or stress-induced members of each of the heat shock protein (Hsp) families, namely Hsp70 and Hsp40, make up the Hsp70/Hsp40 chaperone system. The Hsp40 J-domain is important for the Hsp70-Hsp40 interaction and hence function. The type-II Hsp40 proteins, Homo sapiens DnaJ 1a (Hsj1a) and Plasmodium falciparum DnaJ 4 (Pfj4), are structurally similar suggesting possible similar roles during malarial infection. This thesis has focussed on identifying whether Hsj1a and Pfj4 are functionally similar in their interaction with potential partner Hsp70 chaperones. Analysis in silico also showed Pfj4 to have a potential chaperone domain, a region resembling a ubiquitin-interacting motif (UIM) corresponding to UIM1 of HsjIa, and another highly conserved region was noted between residues 232-241. The highly conserved regions within the Hsp40 J-domains, and those amino acids therein, are suggested to be responsible for mediating this Hsp70-Hsp40 partner interaction. The thermosensitive dnaJ cbpA Escherichia coli OD259 mutant strain producing type-I Agrobacterium tumefaciens DnaJ (AgtDnaJ) was used as a model heterologous expression system in this study. AgtDnaJ was able to replace the lack of two E coli Hsp40s in vivo, DnaJ and CbpA, whereas AgtDnaJ(H33Q) was unable to. AgtDnaJ-based chimeras containing the swapped J-domains of similar type-II Hsp40 proteins, namely Hsj1Agt and Pfj4Agt, were also able to replace these in E. coli OD259. Conserved J-domain amino acids were identified and were substituted in these chimeras. Of these mutant proteins, Hsj IAgt(L8A), Hsj1Agt(R24A), Hsj1Agt(H31Q), Pfj4Agt(L 11A) and Pfj4Agt(H34Q) were not able to replace the E. coli Hsp40s, whilst Pfj4Agt(Y8A) and Pfj4Agt(R27A) were only able to partially replace them. This shows the leucine of helix I and the histidine of the loop region are key in the in vivo function of both proteins and that the arginine of helix II is key for Hsj1a. The histidine-tagged Hsj1a protein was also successfully purified from the heterologous system. The in vitro stimulated ATPase activity of human Hsp70 by Hsj1a was found to be approximately 14 nmol Pí[subscript]/min/mg, and yet not stimulated by Pfj4, suggesting a possible species-specific interaction is occurring.

The 70 kDa heat shock proteins (Hsp70s) are vital for normal protein folding, as they stabilise the unfolded state of nascent polypeptides, allowing these sufficient time to attain a correct tertiary structure. Hsp70s are aided by the DnaJ-like family of proteins, which interact with Hsp70s in order to enhance the chaperone activity of these proteins. DnaJ-like proteins contain a J domain, a seventy amino acid domain consisting of four α-helices, which is defined by the presence of an invariant tripeptide of histidine, proline and aspartic acid (HPD motif). This motif is key to the interaction between DnaJ-like proteins and Hsp70s. This thesis has focused on determining the presence of other conserved residues in the J domain and their role in mediating the interaction of DnaJ-like proteins with partner Hsp70s. DnaJ-like proteins from Agrobacterium tumefaciens RUOR were isolated and used as a model system. A. tumefaciens DnaJ (Agt DnaJ) was able to replace the lack of E. coli DnaJ in an E. coli null mutant strain, however, additional A. tumefaciens DnaJ-like proteins Agt DjC1/DjlA, Agt DjC2 and Agt DjC5 were unable to complement for the lack of E. coli DnaJ. Replacement of the Agt DnaJ J domain with J domains from these proteins resulted in non-functional chimeric proteins, despite some sequence conservation. The kinetics of the basal specific ATPase activity of Agt DnaK, and its ability to have this activity stimulated by Agt DnaJ and Agt DnaJ-H33Q were also investigated. Stimulation of the ATPase activity by Agt DnaJ ranged between 1.5 to 2 fold, but Agt DnaJ-H33Q was unable to stimulate the basal ATPase activity. Conserved amino acids in the J domain were identified in silico, and these residues were substituted in the J domain of Agt DnaJ. The ability of these derivative proteins to replace E. coli DnaJ was investigated. Alterations in the HPD motif gave rise to proteins unable to complement for lack of E. coli DnaJ, consistent with literature. Agt DnaJ-R26A was unable to replace E. coli DnaJ suggesting that Arg26 could be key to the interaction with partner Hsp70s. Agt DnaJ-D59A was unable to replace E. coli DnaJ; substitutions in Asp59 have not previously been shown to impact on the function of DnaJ. Substituting Arg63 in Agt DnaJ abrogated the levels of complementation. Substitution of several structural residues was also found to disrupt the in vivo function of Agt DnaJ suggesting that the maintenance of the structural integrity of the J domain was important for function. This study has identified a number of residues critical to the structure and function of the J domain of Agt DnaJ, and potentially of general importance as molecular determinants for DnaJ-Hsp70 interaction.

Eukaryotic translation initiation factor 5A (eIF5A) is the only known protein to contain hypusine, formed by post-translational modification of a highly conserved lysine residue. Hypusination is essential for eIF5A function, being required for binding of a specific subset of mRNAs necessary for progression of eukaryotic cells through the G1-S checkpoint. Little structural information is available for eIF5A other than that derived from archaeal homologues. The aim of this study was to conduct structure-function studies on Saccharomyces cerevisiae (yeast) eIF5A, encoded by TIF51A. Homology models of eIF5A were generated from the Methanococcus jannaschii archaeal homologue (aIF5A) and two Leishmania eIF5As. The models, along with secondary structure predictions identified an a-helix on the C-terminal domain, unique to eukaryote eIF5A. The Neurospora crassa structural analogue, HEX-1, which dimerises in three configurations, was used to generate similar dimeric model configurations of eIF5A. A biochemical and functional analysis was used to validate the homology models of eIF5A.Since the crystal structures of aIF5A and eIF5A were solved from unhypusinated protein produced in Escherichia coli, 6 x His-tagged eIF5A (His-eIF5A) was used for biochemical analysis. This analysis revealed that eIF5A existed as a dimer in solution, dependent on the presence of the highly conserved Cys 39 residue. A yeast TIF51A/TIF51B null yeast strain, with a chromosomal copy of TIF51A under control of PGAL1, was used to confirm that HiseIF5A and selected eIF5A mutants were functional in vivo. Biochemical analysis showed that hypusinated His-eIF5A also exists as a dimer, but neither the dimerisation, nor the function of eIF5A are dependent on the presence of Cys 39. Rather they depend on the presence of hypusine (Hpu) 51 and the presence of RNA leading to the conclusion that RNA and hypusine are required for dimerisation and hence function, of native eIF5A in vivo. In contrast, a Lys 51 to Arg 51 substitution or RNase treatment of His-eIF5A produced in E. coli did not destabilize the dimeric form, suggesting different folding/dimerisation mechanisms in E. coli and yeast cells. The information obtained from the initial homology models, together with the results of the biochemical analysis was used to propose a mechanism for dimerisation of yeast eIF5A involving both hypusine and RNA.

Stress-inducible protein 1 (Sti1) is a 60 kDa eukaryotic protein that is important under stress and non-stress conditions. Human Sti1 is also known as the Hsp70/Hsp90 organising protein (Hop) that coordinates the functional cooperation of heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) and heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) during the folding of various transcription factors and kinases, including certain oncogenic proteins and prion proteins. Limited studies have been conducted on the STI1 gene structure. Thus, the aim of this study was to develop a comprehensive description of human STI1 (hSTI1), mouse STI1 (mSTI1), and yeast STI1 (ySTI1) genes, using a bioinformatic approach. Genes encoded near the STI1 loci were identified for the three organisms using National Centre for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) MapViewer and the Saccharomyces Genome Database. Exon/intron boundaries were predicted using Hidden Markov model gene prediction software (HMMGene) and Genscan, and by alignment of the mRNA sequence with the genomic DNA sequence. Transcription factor binding sites (TFBS) were predicted by scanning the region 1000 base pairs (bp) upstream of the STI1 orthologues’ transcription start site (TSS) with Alibaba, Transcription element search software (TESS) and Transcription factor search (TFSearch). The promoter region was defined by comparing the number, type and position of TFBS across the orthologous STI1 genes. Additional putative TFBS were identified for ySTI1 by searching with software that aligns nucleic acid conserved elements (AlignACE) for over-represented motifs in the region upstream of the TSS of genes thought to be co-regulated with ySTI1. This study showed that hSTI1 and mSTI1 occur in a region of synteny with a number of genes of related function. Both hSTI1 and mSTI1 comprised 14 putative exons, while ySTI1 was encoded on a single exon. Human and mouse STI1 shared a perfectly conserved 55 bp region spanning their predicted TSS, although their TATA boxes were not conserved. A putative CpG island was identified in the region from -500 to +100 bp relative to the hSTI1 and mSTI1 TSS. This region overlapped with a region of high TFBS density, suggesting that the core promoter region was located in the region approximately 100 to 200 bp upstream of the TSS. Several conserved clusters of TFBS were also identified upstream of this promoter region, including binding sites for stimulatory protein 1 (Sp1), heat shock factor (HSF), nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kappaB), and the cAMP/enhancer binding protein (C/EBP). Microarray data suggested that ySTI1 was co-regulated with several heat shock proteins and substrates of the Hsp70/Hsp90 heterocomplex, and several putative regulatory elements were identified in the upstream region of these co-regulated genes, including a motif for HSF binding. The results of this research suggest several avenues of future experimental work, including the confirmation of the proposed core promoter, upstream regulatory elements, and CpG island, and the investigation into the co-regulation of mammalian STI1 with its surrounding genes. These results could also be used to inform STI1 gene knockout experiments in mice, to assess the biological importance of mammalian STI1.

Plasmodium falciparum is the pathogen that is responsible for the most virulent, severe and dangerous form of human malaria infection, accounting for nearly a million deaths every year. To survive and develop in the unusual environment of the red blood cells, the parasite causes structural remodelling of the host cell and biochemical changes through the export of virulence factors. Among the exportome are the molecular chaperones of the heat shock protein family, of which Hsp40s and Hsp70s are prominent. PF A0660w, a type II P. falciparum Hsp40, has been shown to be exported in complex with PfHsp70-x into the infected erythrocyte, suggesting possible functional interactions. However, the chaperone properties of PF A0660w and its interactions with proteins of parasite and human origin are yet to be investigated. Using a codon optimised coding region, PF A0660w was successfully expressed in E. coli M 15 [pREP4] cells. However, the expressed protein was largely deposited as insoluble pellet, and analysis of the pellets revealed a high percentage of PF A0660w, characteristic of inclusion body formation. PF A0660w was purified from inclusion bodies using additive enhanced solubilisation and refolding buffers followed by nickel affinity chromatography. SDS-PAGE and western analysis revealed that the purified protein was of high purity. Size exclusion chromatography showed that the protein existed as a monomer in solution and the secondary structure analysis using Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) confirmed the success of the refolding approach. Its monomeric state suggests that PF A0660w may be functionally different from other Hsp40 that form dimers and that for PF A0660w, dimer formation may not be needed to maintain the stability of the protein in solution, but may occur in response to functional necessities during its interaction with partner Hsp70. PFA0660w was able to significantly stimulate the ATPase activity ofPfl-Isp70-x but not Pfl-Isp70-1 or human Hsp70 (HsHsp70), suggesting a specific functional interaction. Also, PF A0660w produced a dose dependent suppression of rhodanese aggregation and cooperated with Pfl-Isp70-1, PfHsp70-x and HsHsp70 to cause enhanced aggregation suppression. Its ability to independently suppress aggregation may help to maintain substrates in an unfolded conformation for eventual transfer to partner Hsp70s during refolding processes. Also, the in vivo characterisation using a PF A0660w peptide specific antibody confirmed that PF A0660w was exported into the cytosol of infected erythrocytes. Its lack of induction upon heat shock suggests that PF A0660w may not be involved in the response of the parasite to heat stress. Overall, this study has provided the first heterologous over-expression, purification and biochemical evidence for the possible functional role of PF A0660w, and has thereby provided the needed background for further exploration of this protein as a potential target for drug discovery.

Orientador: Everson Alves Miranda / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Quimica / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-14T10:04:25Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Robic_Goran_D.pdf: 5874566 bytes, checksum: 5a69e6daebf342bd09772a2c02c0c766 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009 / Resumo: A técnica de eletrocoagulação tem sido usada basicamente em tratamento de água potável e águas residuais. Neste trabalho propusemos o uso desta técnica na recuperação e purificação (RPB) de proteínas recombinantes produzidas em plantas geneticamente modificadas. O desafio principal da RPB de uso de plantas como biorreatores é a presença de clorofila e polifenóis nos seus extratos, que causam precipitação e desnaturação das proteínas de interesse, além de danificarem membranas e géis de separação. Portanto, a remoção destes compostos é essencial. No presente trabalho estudou-se a aplicação de eletrocoagulação para clarificar extratos de folhas de Nicotiana benthamiana transgênica removendo a clorofila e polifenóis, sem remover a proteína recombinante sGFP (proteína verde fluorescente sintética). Primeiramente foi necessário desenvolver um método de determinação e quantificação de sGFP baseado na fluorescência intrínseca desta proteína. Os problemas com a fluorescência de fundo presente nos extratos de folhas de N. benthamiana e o aumento de intensidade da fluorescência da sGFP nestes extratos - provavelmente o resultado de dimerização de moléculas de sGFP promovida por composto(s) do extrato - por nós observados, tinham que ser resolvidos. Diluição de 20 vezes dos extratos contendo sGFP com solução de uréia 6 mol/L em fosfato de sódio 50 mmol/L pH 7,00 eliminou completamente estas duas interferências. Os estudos da eletrocoagulação foram iniciados desenvolvendo-se dois modelos de remoção de compostos biológicos de soluções aquosas por esta técnica. Os modelos desenvolvidos são baseados na formação de complexos entre o composto e o gel de hidróxido de alumínio ou a partição do composto entre a fase aquosa e fase do gel de hidróxido de alumínio. Análises teóricas e experimentais revelaram que os parâmetros relevantes na remoção destes compostos são a corrente utilizada - que afeta a taxa de formação de hidróxido de alumínio - e o pH da eletrocoagulação - que afeta a carga tanto do gel formado como dos compostos a serem removidos. Gel de hidróxido de alumínio produzido a pH 8,0 apresentou alta eficiência em remover clorofila e polifenóis dos extratos de folhas de N. benthamiana não-transgênica, ao passo que somente uma pequena porção de proteínas nativas foi removida. Portanto, o gel de hidróxido de alumínio produzido nesta condição foi adicionado a extratos de N. benthamiana transgênica contendo sGFP. A remoção de 99,7% clorofila, de 88,5% dos polifenóis e de 38,4% de proteína total do extrato foi observada sem remoção da sGFP (fator de purificação de 1,6). Portanto, a eletrocoagulação pode também ser usada como técnica de pré-purificação de proteínas recombinantes e ao mesmo tempo como método de clarificação de extratos de folhas. / Abstract: Electrocoagulation is a technique that has been basically applied to water and wastewater treatment. We propose here the extension of this relatively cheap technique to the field of downstream processing (DSP) of plant-derived proteins, in which plants are used as a bioreactor for recombinant protein production. The main problem in the DSP of this plant-based technology is the presence of chlorophyll and phenolic compounds in plant extracts, which tend to precipitate and denature the proteins besides damaging separation membranes and gels. Therefore their removal from the extracts is essential. In the present work we studied the application of a electrocoagulation based technique as a prepurification technique to clarify transgenic Nicotiana benthamiana leaf extracts by removing chlorophyll and phenolic compounds without removing the recombinant protein sGFP (synthetic green fluorescent protein). First, a method for fluorescence-based quantification of sGFP had to be developed. The background fluorescence of plant extracts and the increased level of sGFP fluorescence in N. benthamiana leaves extracts - probably the result of dimerization of sGFP molecules promoted by interaction with some component(s) of tobacco extract - observed by us had to be overcome. Diluting the tobacco extract spiked with sGFP by 20 times with 6 mol/L urea solution in 50 mmol/L sodium phosphate buffer pH 7.00 completely eliminated the two mentioned interferences. The electrocoagulation studies started with the development of simple timedependent models for electrocoagulation of biological compounds from solutions. These models are based on either stoichiometric complex formation between aluminium hydroxide gel and the compound or the partition of the compound between the aqueous and the aluminium hydroxide gel phase. Theoretical and experimental analysis demonstrated that a relevant parameters in the process of electrocoagulation of biological materials are the current applied - since it affects the rate of aluminium hydroxide formation - and the pH of electrocoagulation - since it affects the charges of the aluminium hydroxide gel formed and the components to be removed. Aluminium hydroxide gel produced at pH 8.0 demonstrated a high efficiency of clorophyll and phenolic compounds removal from non-transgenic N. benthamiana leafs extracts, while removing only relative small portion of the native proteins. Therefore, the aluminum hydroxide gel produced at this pH was added to transgenic N. benthamiana leaf extracts containing recombinant sGFP. Removal of 99.7% of chlorophyll and 88.5% of phenolic compounds were observed. Also at this conditions 38.4% of total protein was removed, which resulted in a purification factor of 1.6 with 100% of the sGFP recovered. Therefore the method proposed could also be used as a strategy of pre-purification of recombinant proteins besides at the same time clarifying the tobacco leaf extracts. / Doutorado / Desenvolvimento de Processos Biotecnologicos / Doutor em Engenharia Química

Orientador: José Paschoal Batistuti / Banca: Rubens Monti / Banca: Alice Yoshiko Tanaka / Resumo: As proteínas são de fundamental importância nos processos biológicos atuando como enzimas, hormônios, neurotransmissores, transportadores através de membranas entre outros, pois são essenciais sob os aspectos da estrutura e função celular. Tem se tornado cada vez mais relevante o estudo de metodologias para determinar proteínas em várias áreas como em tecnologia e ciência de alimentos, laboratórios de análises clínicas, nutrição animal e humana. Antes de iniciar qualquer tipo de análise de proteínas, o método utilizado deve ser validado, pois a validação de métodos é um aspecto vital da garantia da qualidade analítica. A validação é um processo dinâmico e constante que começa na fase de seleção, desenvolvimento e otimização do método e na qualificação dos instrumentos, materiais e analistas continuando na fase de experimentos. Um processo de validação bem definido e documentado oferece as agências reguladoras evidências de que o método é adequado. As características investigadas no processo de validação a fim de demonstrar o desempenho do método são: Linearidade, Faixa linear de trabalho, Limite de detecção, Limite de quantificação, Precisão, Exatidão, Precisão intermediária, Robustez, Especificidade, Incerteza de medição e Recuperação. Os métodos mais utilizados para quantificar proteínas são Biureto, Bradford, BCA, Kjeldahl e de Lowry, sendo o método de Lowry o mais utilizado. Devido aos interferentes e a incerteza do método em relação aos parâmetros analisados, este trabalho teve o propósito de realizar a validação do método de Lowry modificado quanto aos parâmetros preconizados pela NATA. A proteína utilizada em todo o experimento foi a albumina bovina sérica - BSA e a metodologia foi a original com algumas modificações... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The proteins are of fundamental importance in biological processes acting as enzymes, hormones, neurotransmitters, transporters across membranes among others, as they are essential aspects in the structure and cellular function. It has become increasingly relevant the study of methodologies for determining proteins in various areas such as technology and food science, clinical laboratories, animal and human nutrition. Before starting any type of protein analysis, the method used must be validated because the method validation is a vital aspect of analytical quality assurance. Validation is a constant and dynamic process that begins at the stage of selection, development and optimization of the method and the qualification of tools, materials, analysts and continuing in the experimental phase. A validation process well defined and documented regulatory agencies provides evidence that the method is appropriate. The characteristics investigated in the validation process to demonstrate the performance of the method are: linearity, linear working range, limit of detection, limit of quantification, precision, accuracy, precision intermediate, robustness, specificity, uncertainty of measurement and recovery. The methods used to quantify proteins are Biuret, Bradford, BCA, Kjeldahl, and Lowry, the method of Lowry the most used. Due to interferences and uncertainty regarding the method parameters, this study aimed to perform the validation Lowry's method modified the parameters recommended by NATA. The protein used throughout the experiment was to bovine serum albumin - BSA and was the original method with some modifications. Despite the existence of many modern techniques, the spectrophotometric method has been shown to be effective, in addition to lower cost and easy handling. The method was developed and validated / Mestre

AG to A transition at position -76 in the promoter region of the apoAI gene was previously identified, and the A-76 has been shown to be associated with high apoAI levels. The functional significance of the point mutation was assessed by analysing the DNA-protein binding and promoter activities of the different alleles. This data would suggest that the point mutation alters the function of the apoAI promoter as gel retention assays revealed that the G fragment (-140 to +10) formed an extra DNA-protein complex compared to the A fragment (-140 to +10). Concurrent with the altered DNA-protein interaction between the G and the A fragments, the transcriptional activities of the apoAI gene were found to also be altered. CAT assays have indicated a 1.91 fold increase in promoter activity of the A fragment as compared to the G fragment (-256 to +397). The difference in promoter activity was, however, highly dependent on the particular fragment used, as no difference was observed between the alleles when a fragment {-256 to +68) was used. In this study elements were identified in the region +68 to +397 that causes a reduction in the promoter activity of the G allele by 3.6 fold, whilst reducing the A allele activity by 2 fold. This data would suggest that the point mutation functionally alters the apoAI promoter activity via its interaction with other sequences especially in the region +68 to +397.

Iron is an essential nutrient for growth of photosynthetic microorganisms such as cyanobacteria and algae. Iron is required for proteins involved in the important processes of carbon and nitrogen assimilation. Low concentrations of iron in cultures or natural waters can lead to iron limitation which affects many aspects of algal metabolism. In natural waters, iron limitation can have effects on the patterns and rates of primary productivity. The cellular content of certain proteins can be affected by media iron concentrations. Methods have been used that assay components of the cell as an indirect measure of iron nutritional status. For example, spectroscopy can be performed to determine the cellular concentration of iron-containing proteins involved in photosynthesis. Organisms grown in media that imitate natural conditions, or organisms collected from their natural habitat are usually dilute. Methods that assay iron nutritional status such as spectroscopy and column chromatography require large sample sizes which are difficult to obtain from natural samples. In addition, methods that utilize techniques such as immunology or radioactive labelling are complex and time-consuming. These considerations led to the necessity of developing a technique that would be simple, rapid and effective on dilute samples. The method developed here utilized fast protein liquid chromatography (FPLC), which fulfilled these requirements. A complete analysis could be done within two to three hours with minimal sample treatment. The FPLC was simple to operate and was effective on a sample containing less than 100 μg of protein. Some photosynthetic organisms, when iron-depleted, can produce the flavin-containing protein flavodoxin (Flv). This protein substitutes for the iron-containing protein ferredoxin (Fd) in Fd-dependent reactions such as the light-induced reduction of NADP. The FPLC technique identified and quantified, in relative terms, Fd and Flv in the cell. Optical spectroscopy was used to verify FPLC retention time assignments. The results illustrated how the FPLC could be used to observe the changes in relative Fd and Flv content as a function of media iron concentration in cultures of the cyanobacterium Anabaena grown in the laboratory. It was found that Fd content decreased and Flv content increased with decreasing media iron concentration. In addition, samples of the cyanobacterium Trichodesmium collected from the ocean near Barbados were analyzed using FPLC to assay relative Fd and Flv content. By analogy with Anabaena, Fd and Flv retention times were identified. Using this technique conclusions could be drawn regarding the changing iron nutritional status of Trichodesmium in its natural habitat .

Spider silk from the female black widow spider, Latrodectus hesperus, is made of extraordinary biomolecules of nature. Efforts of the scientific community to commercially synthesize silks have become a collaborating, yet competitive race, to characterize the proteins that contribute to its intriguing biomechanics. Little has been reported on aqueous silk molecules in black widow spider silk, which are quite different from the large water insoluble core fibroins. In this study, a novel, aqueous aggregate gland derived silk factor (AgSF 1) was investigated using proteomics and immunological approaches. Western blot analyses of whole tissue lysates and solublized silk fibers revealed high levels of AgSFl in the aggregate gland, in the web scaffolding junctions, and in wrapping silk. MS/MS analyses of tryptic digest products from solubilized wrapping silk and aggregate gland whole cell lysate also confirmed the presence of AgSFl in these samples. Possible post-translational modifications were also analyzed by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2DE) and MS/MS analysis. AgSFl was localized in the web scaffolding junctions and our data supports a role as an adhesive silk protein that serves as a center for connecting scaffolding fibers that functions to reduce the tensile strength of scaffolding fibers, which facilitates capture of aerial insects.