Model for Genetic Manipulation in Spider?
For the last 5 years, my digging into the reviews on genetic manipulation in spiders has always been a disappointment. This is because no real genetic modification in spiders have been really done. Well, not that I say there is NO studies at all but only to the extent of using spider embryos for genetic testing. Yupe, such researches do exist of using genetic tool in particular, RNAi to silence certain developmental genes in spider egg. From the investigations performed, scientists have developed a microinjection technique to deliver RNAi in spider embryo to target the GOI. Guess what? It did work! But the thing is that, the species they use is the model spider, Parasteatoda tepidariorum or commonly known as the common house spider. It has been used tremendously in developmental studies. But unfotunately, that species is not available in Malaysia... So, it is hard for me to obtain and use it in my PhD project. Thus, for the last 6 years, I have started to play around with our common house spider, the daddy long leg as it is called, C. lyoni with the aim in my mind of making it as a model for genetic manipulation in my PhD project. And so, I did. I studied the life cycle of the spider, how it breeds, the eggs, etc.. all well characterized just for genetic modification. And now, I am using it. I am planning to make cellar spider as one of the non-model organisms for spider genetic manipulation in the future. In fact, if you guys are movie lover, you may notice cellar spiders sometimes make good way in the movie hehehe.. Hopefully, it brings something worthy for me soon. Crossing fingers to that!
Movies that have made cellar spiders the superstar spiders!
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