Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, a leading developer of spider silk-based fibres, has successfully produced the first recombinant spider silk cocoons from the new line of hybrid transgenic silkworms recently created at its Michigan production and research facility.
This new hybrid line was created by combining one of the company’s best performing recombinant spider silk lines with a commercial strain, resulting in the largest cocoons in the company’s history. The first-generation cocoons from this hybrid cross have exceeded the company’s expectations with some cocoons nearly twice as large as the original spider silk line cocoons.
These larger cocoons are said to reduce operating and handling costs throughout the production process and yield longer silk threads. Mechanical performance testing of this new hybrid spider silk line is expected to begin shortly.
