Black Widow Spider Webs Capture the Genetics of Spiders and Their Prey

Scientists are learning a bit more about insects thanks to the black widow spider. They've extracted DNA from spider webs in order to identify the web's spider architect and then the prey that crossed it.

 Noninvasive genetic sampling enables biomonitoring without the need to directly disturb or target organisms. In this latest study, the researchers used three black widow spiders fed house crickets in order to noninvasively extract, amplify and sequence mitochondrial DNA from their spider web samples, which identified both the spider and its prey to species.

"Sticky spider webs are natural DNA samplers, trapping nearby insects and other things blowing in the wind," said Charles Cong Xu, one of the researchers, in a news release. "We see potential for broad environmental monitoring because spiders build webs in so many places."

The findings could be huge when it comes to future sampling. More specifically, it could allow scientists to detect whether a certain prey species happens to be in an area simply by monitoring spider webs and extracting DNA from the webs.

The findings are published in the journal PLOS One.

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