Silk fibers are produced by a wide variety of insects.
The silkworm Bombyx mori (Bombyx) was domesticated because
the physical properties of its silk fibers were amenable to the production
of fine textiles. Subsequently, engineers have regenerated silk fibroin
to form biomaterials. The monocular focus on Bombyx silk has underutilized the expanse of diverse silk proteins produced
by more than 100,000 other arthropods. This vast array of silk fibers
could be utilized for biomedical engineering challenges if sufficient
rearing and purification processes are developed. Herein, we show
that the moth, Plodia interpunctella (Plodia), represents
an alternative silk source that is easily reared in highly regulated
culture environments allowing for greater consistency in the silk
produced. We controlled the temperature, resource availability (larvae/gram
diet), and population density (larvae/mL) with the goal of increasing
silk fiber production and improving homogeneity in Plodia silk proteins. We determined that higher temperatures accelerated
insect growth and reduced life cycle length. Furthermore, we established
initial protocols for the production of Plodia silk
with optimal silk production occurring at 24 °C, with a resource
availability of 10 larvae/gram and a population density of 0.72 larvae/mL.
Population density was shown to be the most prominent driving force
of Plodia silk mat formation among the three parameters
assessed. Future work will need to link gene expression, protein production
and purification, and resulting mechanical properties as a function
of environmental cues to further transition Plodia silk into regenerated silk fibroin biomaterials.