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Project Under Way In Kyoto To Commercialize Spider-Silkworm Thread
By MASAHIKO FUJISAKI/ Staff Writer November 27, 2014

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KYOTANGO, Kyoto Prefecture--A government-academic collaboration project plans to commercially develop high-performance silk created through genetic engineering between spiders and silkworms in about five years.

Yasushi Nakayama, mayor of Kyotango, and Kunihiro Hamada, dean of Shinshu University’s Faculty of Textile Science and Technology, signed the agreement Nov. 7 on development of a product known as Spider Silk, which is stronger and softer than normal silkworm silk.

“With Shinshu University’s help, we want to take the lead in creating a new silk industry,” Nakayama said.

Spider Silk was first developed in 2007 by Masao Nakagaki, a professor at the university.

Nakagaki implanted spider genes into silkworms, which then produced silk containing components found in spiderwebs. Research has progressed to a point where the Spider Silk contains at least 20 percent spiderweb components, and prototype socks have been produced with the material.

Spider Silk is expected to have a wide range of applications beyond textiles. For example, it might eventually be used in surgical thread and synthetic blood vessels.

Under the agreement, the city government and the university will cooperate in areas of industrial development, personnel training, academic research and use of facilities to commercially develop Spider Silk.

The city plans to renovate a former elementary school building by next spring, install silkworm breeding equipment and turn it into a research center for Nakagaki.

“Collaborating with a silk industry hub will offer huge advantages for silk research,” said Hamada, who is also vice president of the university.

Shinshu University's Faculty of Textile Science and Technology, whose predecessor was founded 104 years ago, is the nation's only academic department that specializes in textiles.




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