{
  "abstract": "Webspinners (Insecta: Embioptera) are an unusual insect order that are known for their subsocial behavior and prolific silk-production. Due to their unique foreleg silk glands, and spider-like ability to produce silk throughout their entire life cycle, webspinners are hypothesized to have evolved silk independently from other arthropod lineages. To date, there are no high-quality contig-level genome assemblies available for the order, preventing the study of their silk gene origination and diversification. Here, we assembled PacBio HiFi contig-level genomes and characterized the silk genes present in two webspinner species, Aposthonia ceylonica and Oligotoma nigra. The genomes reveal multiple full-length copies of the primary Embioptera silk gene, e-fibroin, that have undergone both ancestral and recent gene duplications within the group. For both species, all e-fibroin paralogs show the presence of complex repeat units consisting of multiple exons and introns that are remarkably homogenized across each gene. We also used µCT-scanning of the internal silk glands to provide details concerning the localization of silk production in foreleg tarsi, and interspecific morphology.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Division of Invertebrate Zoology and Institute for Comparative Genomics, American Museum of Natural History , New York, NY 10024 ,",
    "Richard Gilder Graduate School, American Museum of Natural History , New York, NY 10024 ,",
    "Department of Biology, Brigham Young University , Provo, UT 84602 ,",
    "Department of Plant and Wildlife Sciences and Bean Life Science Museum, Brigham Young University , Provo, UT 84602 ,",
    "Department of Biology, Santa Clara University , Santa Clara, CA 95053 ,",
    "Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida , Gainesville, FL 32611 ,"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 11,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Amanda Markee",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-7421-6339"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Lillian J Buck"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Daniel D Davis"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Janice S Edgerly"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5
      ],
      "name": "Edward L Stanley"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Jessica L Ware"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5
      ],
      "name": "Akito Y Kawahara"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Ashlyn Powell",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-6706-9190"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Cheryl Y Hayashi",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-9189-9151"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Richard H Baker"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Paul B Frandsen",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-4801-7579"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/acnq7188a0tf8.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1093/g3journal/jkag304",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "acnq7188a0tf8",
  "issns": [
    "2160-1836"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://academic.oup.com/g3journal/advance-article/doi/10.1093/g3journal/jkag304/9004078",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "2502|Silk-based biomaterials and applications"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7197042270",
  "pdf_url": "https://academic.oup.com/g3journal/advance-article-pdf/doi/10.1093/g3journal/jkag304/72563964/jkag304.pdf",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-28",
  "publisher": "Oxford University Press (OUP)",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/acnq7188a0tf8.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:19:09Z",
      "native_id": "10.1093/g3journal/jkag304",
      "source": "crossref",
      "url": "https://academic.oup.com/g3journal/advance-article/doi/10.1093/g3journal/jkag304/9004078"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "chemistry",
      "origin": "openalex:2502|Silk-based biomaterials and applications",
      "subfield": "materials-polymers"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Genomics and CT imaging reveal diversity in silk genes and gland morphology of webspinners",
  "title_text": "Genomics and CT imaging reveal diversity in silk genes and gland morphology of webspinners",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:19:09Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/acnq7188a0tf8",
  "venue": "G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics",
  "versions": []
}