Recently, Scheibel and co-workers reported the first successful application of CRISPR-Cas9 (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats and CRISPR-associated protein 9) gene editing in the common house spider, Parasteatoda tepidariorum.¹ The researchers established a CRISPR-mediated microinjection protocol to target adult female spiders resulting in gene-edited offspring via knock-out (KO) and knock-in (KI) approaches. A solution containing Cas9:gRNA was injected into the ovaries of female spiders before they were mated with male partners.

Knocking out the sine oculis gene caused the offspring to lose their eyes, demonstrating that this gene is essential for eye development. The team also achieved a knock-in of  a monomeric red fluorescent protein (mRFP) into the gene encoding the silk protein major ampullate spidroin-2 (MaSp2). This enabled the spiders to produce red fluorescent silk fibres.

Spider silk is a natural protein fibre known for its exceptional strength, elasticity, and light weight. Its unique mechanical properties make it highly attractive for applications in materials science. Engineering spider silk enables the creation of biocompatible materials for various applications. Overall, this research opens new avenues for spider-based gene function studies and biomaterial innovations, connecting genetics, evolutionary biology, and materials science.

• Spider Eye Development Editing and Silk Fiber Engineering Using CRISPR-Cas
  Edgardo Santiago-Rivera and Thomas Scheibel
  Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2025
  doi.org/10.1002/anie.202502068