Reeves 1

David Reeves

English 10 GT

Ms. Sasser

Independent Research I

February 18, 2020

Artificial Spider Silk: Mass-Producing the Thread of the Future

In the movie Spiderman 2, an iconic scene shows Spiderman keeping an occupied train

car from derailing in the middle of New York City with just his webs, this scene, created using

CGI for the movie, is possible to recreate with the help of spider silk, due to spider silk’s

incredible strength and toughness. Unfortunately, humans cannot harness this strength yet

because of one obstacle: the inability to mass-produce spider silk. Transgenic silkworms can

mass produce artificial spider silk, thus offering viable solutions to the problems of cost,

sustainability, and environmental impact.

Spider silk has been in use since the times of the Ancient Romans and Greeks.

Throughout history, there have been a few notable, yet failed, attempts to commercialize spider

silk. In 1709, the French government commissioned a naturalist to make a pair of gloves out of

spider silk. Unable to acquire enough spider silk in a reasonable amount of time, he deemed it

impractical to use for clothing (Lewis). Daniel Rolt received a silver medal from the Society of

Arts in Britain for developing a device that harnessed the spider and spooled its silk directly in

1830, but this method was also impractical as it still took too long (Lewis). In World War II, the

US military used spider silk for crosshairs in optical devices because a single strand is only

1/20,000 of an inch thick, compared to a human hair’s thickness of 1/250 of an inch thick
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(Lewis). Many of the Naval bases kept a black widow spider on site to repair these devices.

There is more than enough evidence to support thousands of possible applications of spider silk,

and they will help advance almost any field imaginable, from medical to agricultural to the

defense industry, so why are researchers still not using it for all those things? Transgenic

silkworms are genetically modified silkworms, which have the silk gene of a spider inserted into

them. This paper will explore the primary obstacle of mass production and will offer a

comparison of the different methods of mass production, including silkworms and Escherichia

coli, or E. coli, primarily, to identify a viable method overall.

Transgenic silkworms cost less than current leading methods of production overall, and at

each notable step of the fiber-making process. The current leading method of mass-production

uses E. coli plants. The spider’s silk genes are inserted into the E. coli plant, giving its fibers

mechanical properties like those of natural spider silk (Oliveira et al). The plant fibers are

harvested, then purified, and finally used to compose threads with natural spider silk-like

properties.

Researchers have tested two types of E. coli plants for essential statistics in improving

artificial spider silk production. The tests emphasized CO2 emissions and estimated costs. The

first E. coli plant tested was a pioneer plant, already used by many laboratories around the world,

to establish a baseline. The second E. coli plant, however, was an optimized version of the first

plant with the intent to reduce costs. The baseline pioneer plant was “intended to represent

current production cost estimates based on demonstrated laboratory technologies and thus is a

conservative estimate for production” (Edlund et. al). Although this was an effective estimate at

the time, it was conservative and still not ideal for large-scale production. While only
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considering production costs, “the techno-economic analysis indicates a minimum sale price

from pioneer and optimized E. coli plants of $761… and $23” per kilogram, respectively

(Edlund et. al). These estimates are ideal, minimum costs for artificial spider silk production

using each type of E. coli plants; however, sellers of artificial spider silk could sell it at a much

greater price (To set the price per kilogram in perspective, a kilogram (2.2 pounds) can make

seven t-shirts). Other factors of marketing, packaging, and shipping costs will influence the final

sale price of the artificial spider silk threads and should be taken into consideration when

determining a viable method for mass-production.

Certain steps of artificial spider silk mass production require more time and resources

than other steps. In recent years, “heterologous systems that produce spider silk proteins have

been applied in different organisms, including bacteria, yeasts, mammalian cell lines, insect

cells, and even transgenic animals and plants. However, none of these expressed proteins can be

naturally assembled into silk fibers, and extra manufacturing technologies are needed, which are

extremely cost-inefficient” (Xu et. al). When using E. coli plants, for example, the immediate

product is a protein with spider silk-like properties. Extra manufacturing steps, including

fermentation, harvesting, purification, drying, and fiber spinning, are then required to process the

plant proteins into usable threads. In addition, the increased work from these specialized steps

only leads to unnecessary costs. “Based on the annual production capacity a [total overnight

capital] of $314 million, and an operational cost of $223 million, the resulting minimum product

sale price is $761 kg-1” (Edlund et. al). Entire facilities with expensive specialized equipment

are necessary to harvest and process artificial spider silk from E. coli plants, which only adds to

the final overall cost of the silk.Transgenic silkworms can produce artificial spider silk cheaper

than alternative methods of mass-production and will cost just slightly more than regular silk
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when sold commercially. Kraig Biocraft Laboratories estimated the cost at “less than $300 per

kilogram. Economical silk production using silkworms [has] existed for thousands of years”

(Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, Inc.). Kraig Labs, the current leader in commercial artificial spider

silk production, has published real pricing data for transgenic silkworms that are much cheaper

than the estimates published for E. coli plants. The process of farming the transgenic silkworms

is the same as that of farming regular silkworms, so the costs will be consistent with natural

silkworm farming. On the current market, silk prices can vary “from $8 to $80 per yard. The

price differences depend on how the silk farms are managed”, but a premium can be charged due

to the desirable properties of spider silk, making it worth more than regular silk, and this will not

be affected by production costs (“True Cost of Your Clothing”). “Using transgenic silkworms

with their natural spinning apparatus has proven to be a promising way to spin spider silk-like

fibers” (Zhang et. al). Because silkworms can directly create silk fibers, instead of proteins that

require extensive processing before they can become a usable thread, they can cut out

unnecessary, expensive techniques used in production with E. coli plants. It is worth mentioning,

however, that in certain cases, a spider silk protein is more ideal than a spider silk thread. 

Silkworms have proven themselves over thousands of years to be a cheap, efficient

method of silk production. Artificial spider silk production using E. coli plants proves to be

unnecessarily complex and expensive, whereas transgenic silkworms prove the opposite. With

all the data, both estimated and recorded, from previous attempts at artificial spider silk mass-

production, the cost benefits of transgenic silkworms are enough reasoning alone to be

considered the most effective method. 

Transgenic silkworms have a minimal harmful impact on the environment compared to

E. coli plants when used for artificial spider silk mass-production. Environmental impact is
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measured and estimated in carbon dioxide (CO 2) emissions. Emissions are considered from

factory processes and essential material production.

Artificial spider silk production with the use of E. coli plants produces significant

amounts of CO2. Referring to the same study mentioned earlier, which tested a pioneer plant and

an optimized plant, the emissions from E. coli plants “are higher than anticipated at 572 kg CO 2

[equivalent] and 55 kg CO2 [equivalent] product” (Edlund et al). This refers to the pioneer E. coli

plant and the optimized E. coli plant, respectively. These emissions were much higher than

anticipated and are far from ideal. Even with estimates for the optimized E.coli plants, further

“optimization through processing techniques and increased protein expression will be required

before the protein production method can become feasible for large scale production”, making

the mass-production of artificial spider silk a long way off from being practical on a large scale

(Edlund et al). 

Transgenic silkworms, like normal silkworms, can only survive on one thing: mulberry

leaves. Because of this, large amounts of mulberry trees will be necessary as production using

transgenic silkworms is ramped up. The benefits of this are clear, since “mulberry is a good

carbon sink tree. According to the data, 1 [hectare] mulberry trees were able to absorb about

6.24x10^4 [62,400] kg of CO2 and released 4.60x10^4 [46,000] kg O2 each year” (Jiang et al).

Mulberry trees absorb much more CO2 than the average tree in a backyard, their leaves serve as a

sustainable food source for the silkworms and will even absorb excess CO 2 emissions from a

nearby artificial spider silk factory. According to a recent study, tropical tree plantations of pine

and eucalyptus can sequester an average of 10 tons of carbon per hectare per year” (“Calculate

the Amount of CO2 Sequestered in a Tree”). That is almost seven times less CO2 sequestered

than a hectare of mulberry trees. 

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Silkworm based factories produce less CO2 than alternative methods as a result of

requiring fewer steps and different functions during the production process of artificial spider

silk. Silkworms have “incorporated atmospheric CO2 into silk fibers via the [Krebs] cycle;

however, the magnitude of uptake into the silk fibers is smaller than that consumed by the

photosynthesis in trees and coral reefs” (Magoshi et al). Silkworms absorb small amounts of CO 2

from the surrounding environment and deposit it into their fibers. This adds to the carbon

sequestration of the process so far and decreases the harmful environmental impact even further.

Unlike the process using E. coli plants, transgenic silkworms only have a few production stages.

To harvest silk commercially, “cocoons are first steamed to kill the pupae inside... Next the

cocoon is dunked in hot water... to dissolve the sticky coating that binds the silk. Then a machine

unwinds the single strand that makes up each cocoon. Twisted together, these strands make the

fine thread used to weave silk cloth” (Breau). Silkworms only need to be raised, then the silk is

harvested, and finally, the silk is processed into a usable thread, which compares to the five

essential steps of artificial spider silk production using E. coli plants, optimized or not. Finally,

the production process of transgenic silkworms mirrors that of regular silkworm farming.

Transgenic silkworms have a small impact on the environment when compared to E. coli

plants. Silkworms can only survive by eating mulberry leaves, which creates the necessity to

have a certain number of mulberry trees for each factory. Because mulberry trees are carbon

sinks, they will absorb more CO2 than a regular tree. E. coli plant emissions were estimated at an

ideal output of 55 kg CO2 eq. Kg-1, which is far from sustainable. Finally, the silkworms

themselves absorb certain amounts of CO2 and deposit it into their fibers.

Transgenic silkworms are easier to maintain and are more self-sustaining than any other

method of production. Transgenic silkworms can essentially produce silk on their own, and the
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only human intervention needed would be inserting the spider silk protein gene into the

silkworms and preparing the silk for sale. 

Once a spider silk gene has been inserted into the silkworms, they can pass the same gene

on to their offspring. The “transgenic silkworms have been tracked for several generations with

normal inheritance” of the patterns, and “this strategy demonstrates the feasibility of using

silkworms as a natural spider silk spinner for industrial production of high-performance fibers”

(Zhang et al). The increased work necessary to complete the insertion of the spider silk genes

into the silkworms is only apparent in the earliest stages of production when the facilities are still

being properly set up. This makes the sustainability of transgenic silk mirror the already proven

sustainability of normal silkworms. 

Silkworms have been farmed for thousands of years. Sericulture originates during “the

fifth century BC, [when] at least six Chinese provinces were producing silk… The technique and

process of sericulture were guarded secrets and closely controlled by Chinese authorities,”

although evidence of sericulture has been found dating back to 8000 BC (Lee). In many ways,

artificial spider silk production using transgenic silkworms is identical to regular silk production

using silkworms. Sericulture has only been able to persist through the world over the past few

thousand years for one reason: it is a simple process. Silk production is even possible in the most

basic environments, including household enclosures. 

Transgenic silkworms produce an artificial spider silk fiber that can be used almost

immediately after production, instead of producing a protein with enhanced properties. In a

spider’s body, the “silk proteins are produced and stored at a very high concentration in glands,

and then transported along a narrowing tube in which they change conformation in response

primarily to a pH gradient generated by carbonic anhydrase and proton pumps, as well as to ions
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and shear forces” (Andersson et al). The silk production process is similar in both spiders and

silkworms; therefore, using silkworms to produce spider’s silk is logical. Furthermore,

silkworms can be domesticated, where spiders cannot. Finally, silkworms can produce an actual

fiber that just needs to be spun into thread, whereas E. coli plants only produce a modified

protein (Zhang et al).

The spider silk gene that scientists insert into the silkworms is hereditary, meaning it can

be passed onto the offspring naturally. The increased work necessary for the gene insertion only

needs to happen a few times at the beginning of the process, without the need for repeating it.

Silkworms, having been farmed for thousands of years, are proven to be a sustainable source of

silk. In many ways, transgenic silkworms produce silk in the same way that natural silkworms

would do. Transgenic silkworms directly produce the enhanced silk fiber, where E. coli plants

will only produce the modified protein. 

Silk production has been around for thousands of years. Spider silk has been harvested

for hundreds of years, and recently, scientists have been able to overwhelmingly prove potential

applications for spider silk. There is just one thing that is holding researchers back: mass

production. To artificially mass produce spider silk for commercial and medical purposes,

transgenic silkworms can be used to solve the problem of cost, sustainability, and environmental

impact when compared to alternative methods of mass production. For the benefit of cost,

transgenic silkworms beat out other methods of mass production by hundreds of dollars per

kilogram in certain instances. Silkworms are cheaper overall and have fewer necessary steps

during artificial spider silk production when compared to optimized E. coli plants. For the benefit

of a minimal environmental impact, silkworms have less impact on the environment. When all

the factors are considered, such as needing large amounts of carbon sink mulberry trees to feed
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the silkworms, it can be anticipated that silkworms will have lower CO 2 emissions overall.

Additionally, silkworms have fewer steps required in production, so there is less usage of

machinery and factory equipment while producing spider silk. For the benefit of sustainability,

both as a business venture and as an industry, transgenic silkworms are more sustainable than

their spider counterparts. Transgenic silkworms are almost identical to regular silkworms when it

comes to production, so researchers can look to the millennium-old sericulture processes for

insight. Silkworms have been a staple of the global economy for thousands of years. Transgenic

silkworms can also actually produce a spider silk fiber, instead of just a protein that must be

processed extensively to create a thread. Finally, the edited genes in silkworms are hereditary, so

after inserting them into the first generation of silkworms, scientists will not have to do it again

since the genes can simply be passed down from parent to offspring.
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Jiang, Yongbing, et al. “Mulberry for Environmental Protection.” Pakistan Journal of Botany,
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