School of Geographical & Earth Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK.
J Struct Biol. 2013 Aug;183(2):165-71. doi: 10.1016/j.jsb.2013.05.010. Epub 2013 May 24.
The shell of the gastropod mollusc, abalone, is comprised of nacre with an outer prismatic layer that is composed of either calcite or aragonite or both, depending on the species. A striking characteristic of the abalone shell is the row of apertures along the dorsal margin. As the organism and shell grow, new apertures are formed and the preceding ones are filled in. Detailed investigations, using electron backscatter diffraction, of the infill in three species of abalone: Haliotis asinina, Haliotis gigantea and Haliotis rufescens reveals that, like the shell, the infill is composed mainly of nacre with an outer prismatic layer. The infill prismatic layer has identical mineralogy as the original shell prismatic layer. In H. asinina and H. gigantea, the prismatic layer of the shell and infill are made of aragonite while in H. rufescens both are composed of calcite. Abalone builds the infill material with the same high level of biological control, replicating the structure, mineralogy and crystallographic orientation as for the shell. The infill of abalone apertures presents us with insight into what is, effectively, shell repair.
鲍鱼的腹足纲软体动物贝壳由珍珠层组成，其外层棱柱层由方解石或文石组成，具体取决于物种。鲍鱼壳的一个显著特征是沿背缘排列的一排孔。随着生物体和贝壳的生长，新的孔形成，前面的孔被填满。使用电子背散射衍射对三种鲍鱼（鲍鱼、大鲍和红鲍）的填充物进行了详细研究，结果表明，与贝壳一样，填充物主要由珍珠层和外层棱柱层组成。填充物的棱柱层与原始贝壳棱柱层的矿物学性质相同。在鲍鱼和大鲍中，贝壳和填充物的棱柱层由文石组成，而在红鲍中，两者均由方解石组成。鲍鱼以同样高度的生物控制来构建填充物，复制贝壳的结构、矿物学和结晶方向。鲍鱼的孔填充物让我们深入了解了有效的贝壳修复。
