0000000000268684
AUTHOR
Sana Benhamada
The shell organic matrix of the crossed lamellar queen conch shell (Strombus gigas)
10 pages; International audience; In molluscs, the shell organic matrix comprises a large set of biomineral-occluded proteins, glycoproteins and polysaccharides that are secreted by the calcifying mantle epithelium, and are supposed to display several functions related to the synthesis of the shell. In the present paper, we have characterized biochemically the shell matrix associated to the crossed-lamellar structure of the giant queen conch Strombus gigas. The acid-soluble (ASM) and acid-insoluble (AIM) matrices represent an extremely minor fraction of the shell. Both are constituted of polydisperse and of few discrete proteins among which three fractions, obtained by preparative SDS-PAGE …
Synthesis of calcium carbonate biological materials: how many proteins are needed?
In Nature, calcium carbonate biomineralizations are the most abundant mineralized structures of biological origin. Because many exhibit remarkable characteristics, several attempts have been made to use them as substitution materials for bone reconstruction or as models for generating biomimetic composites that exhibit tailored properties. CaCO3biomineralizations contain small amounts of amalgamate of proteins and polysaccharides that are secreted during the calcification process. They contribute to control the morphology of the crystallites and to spatially organize them in well-defined microstructures. These macromolecules, collectively defined as the skeletal matrix, have been the focus …
Novel molluskan biomineralization proteins retrieved from proteomics: a case study with upsalin.
12 pages; International audience; The formation of the molluskan shell is regulated by an array of extracellular proteins secreted by the calcifying epithelial cells of the mantle. These proteins remain occluded within the recently formed biominerals. To date, many shell proteins have been retrieved, but only a few of them, such as nacreins, have clearly identified functions. In this particular case, by combining molecular biology and biochemical approaches, we performed the molecular characterization of a novel protein that we named Upsalin, associated with the nacreous shell of the freshwater mussel Unio pictorum. The full sequence of the upsalin transcript was obtained by RT-PCR and 5'/3…