Hidetoshi TERAMOTO et al. at NIAS have used transgenic silkworms that expressed a mutant of phenylalanyl-tRNA synthetase with expanded substrate recognition capabilities to produce AzPhe-incorporated silk fibroin. The larvae were fed p-chloro-, p-bromo-, and p-azido-substituted analogues of l-phenylalanine. The activated silk fibroin could be a versatile platform to produce “clickable” silk materials.

Nikkei Biotech news release, August 8, 2014