Paper wasps of the genus Polistes are well known for their ability to construct nests out of transformed plant materials with paper-like properties. The most significant property of the wasp-produced paper is that it is hydrophobic and therefore waterproof. Research has identified that a protein found in the salivary glands of paper wasps is responsible for coating, strengthening, and thus waterproofing the cellulose found in plants. We collected Polistes dominula, an invasive European species of paper wasp, and sequence the proteins found in their saliva using a modified peptide mass fingerprinting approach. Our ultimate goal is to transform the gene coding for the wasp waterproofing protein into Saccharomyces cerevisiae so that we can produce an inherently biomimetic solution to shielding lightweight bacterial cellulose (BC) or BCOAc films from water in the environment. This project is particularly exciting because of its potential for discovery; never before have the proteins in wasp saliva been identified or applied as functional biomaterials.
Second approach: Wax ester biosynthesis
The biodegradable unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) would be best improved if it had waterproofing capabilities. As such, various waterproofing mechanisms are under investigation for application [1]. One of the mechanisms includes the biological manipulation of the protein involved in the secretion of lipophilic wax esters from the avian uropygial gland of a pelican. Previous research has revealed that the chemical composition of the uropygial gland secretion is primarily composed of unique variations of methylhexanoic acid and fatty alcohols that react to produce wax esters. The enzymes responsible for catalyzing the esterification reaction are wax synthases. Various wax synthases have been identified across many eukaryotic and prokaryotic organisms including plants, mammals, protozoa, and bacteria. However, the current focus is bacterial and protozoan production of wax esters. Bacterial production of wax esters is most commonly associated with the Acinetobacter calcoaceticus bacterium and isoprenoid wax ester production in Marinobacter hydrocarbonoclasticus [2-3]. M. hydrocarbonoclasticus and Euglena gracilis, bacteria and protozoa respectively, were the primary focus for the synthesis of wax esters. There were two proteins that efficiently catalyzed the production of isoprenoid wax esters: wax synthase 1 and wax synthase 2. Both of these proteins can be found in M. hydrocarbonoclasticus. Therefore, we used molecular biology to investigate the biosynthetic production of wax esters in E. coli for waterproofing capabilities.
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