The remarkable material properties of spider silk, such
as its
high toughness and tensile strength combined with its low density,
make it a highly sought-after material with myriad applications. In
addition, the biological nature of spider silk makes it a promising,
potentially sustainable alternative to many toxic or petrochemical-derived
materials. Therefore, interest in the heterologous production of spider
silk proteins has greatly increased over the past few decades, making
recombinant spider silk an important frontier in biomanufacturing.
This has resulted in a diversity of potential host organisms, a large
space for sequence design, and a variety of downstream processing
techniques and product applications for spider silk production. Here,
we highlight advances in each of these technical aspects as well as
white spaces therein, still ripe for further investigation and discovery.
Additionally, industry landscaping, patent analyses, and interviews
with Key Opinion Leaders help define both the research and industry
landscapes. In particular, we found that though textiles dominated
the early products proposed by companies, the versatile nature of
spider silk has opened up possibilities in other industries, such
as high-performance materials in automotive applications or biomedical
therapies. While continuing enthusiasm has imbued scientists and investors
alike, many technical and business considerations still remain unsolved
before spider silk can be democratized as a high-performance product.
We provide insights and strategies for overcoming these initial hurdles,
and we highlight the importance of collaboration between academia,
industry, and policy makers. Linking technical considerations to business
and market entry strategies highlights the importance of a holistic
approach for the effective scale-up and commercial viability of spider
silk bioproduction.