We know that every creature on earth has hundreds or even thousands of different enzymes to do all the jobs that it requires. What's really strange is that each one of the enzymes has to be made by other enzymes. We are beginning to figure this out, and the study of such systems is an important part of biochemistry and biology. Riding Down the Silk Road One of the unique polypeptides that we used very early for its superb properties was silk. Silk was discovered by the Chinese long before the birth of Christ.
Silk is made by tiny caterpillars trying to spin cocoons for their transformation into moths.
We steal the silk from the caterpillars which leaves them in limbo, pretty much. The silk is spun into fibers . Bundles of very thin individual polymers joined together to be stronger. This is the way we also make rope, using weak individual strands bound together in such a way that the total is both flexible and strong. The structure of silk molecules is unusual for a polypeptide.