Bruker, Beijing, Scientific Technology, Minhang District, Shanghai, 200233, China.
Department of Geo- and Environmental Sciences, Ludwig Maximillians University Munich, Munich, Germany.
Sci Rep. 2024 Jun 12;14(1):13469. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-63042-7.
Caudofoveata are molluscs that protect their vermiform body with a scleritome, a mosaic of unconnected blade/lanceolate-shaped aragonite sclerites. For the species Falcidens gutturosus and Scutopus ventrolineatus we studied the crystallographic constitution and crystal orientation texture of the sclerites and the scleritome with electron-backscatter-diffraction (EBSD), laser-confocal-microscopy (LCM) and field-emission electron microscopy (FE-SEM) imaging. Each sclerite is an aragonite single crystal that is completely enveloped by an organic sheath. Adjacent sclerites overlap laterally and vertically are, however, not connected to each other. Sclerites are thickened in their central portion, relative to their periphery. Thickening increases also from sclerite tip towards its base. Accordingly, cross-sections through a sclerite are straight at its tip, curved and bent towards the sclerite base. Irrespective of curved sclerite morphologies, the aragonite lattice within the sclerite is coherent. Sclerite aragonite is not twinned. For each sclerite the crystallographic c-axis is parallel to the morphological long axis of the sclerite, the a-axis is perpendicular to its width and the b-axis is within the width of the sclerite. The single-crystalinity of the sclerites and their mode of organization in the scleritome is outstanding. Sclerite and aragonite arrangement in the scleritome is not given by a specific crystal growth mode, it is inherent to the secreting cells. We discuss that morphological characteristics of the sclerites and crystallographic preferred orientation (texture) of sclerite aragonite is not the result of competitive growth selection. It is generated by the templating effect of the organic substance of the secreting cells and associated extracellular biopolymers.
龙介虫是一种软体动物,它们用硬化组织(由不相连的刀片/长矛形霰石硬化小体组成的马赛克)来保护它们的蠕虫状身体。我们研究了 Falcidens gutturosus 和 Scutopus ventrolineatus 这两个物种的硬化小体和硬化组织的结晶结构和晶体取向纹理,使用了电子背散射衍射(EBSD)、激光共聚焦显微镜(LCM)和场发射电子显微镜(FE-SEM)成像技术。每个硬化小体都是完全被有机鞘包裹的霰石单晶。相邻的硬化小体在侧向和垂直方向上重叠,但彼此不相连。硬化小体在其中心部分比其外围部分更厚。从硬化小体的尖端到其基部,厚度也增加。因此,穿过硬化小体的横截面在其尖端是直的,在向硬化小体基部弯曲。无论硬化小体的形态如何弯曲,硬化小体内部的霰石晶格都是一致的。硬化小体的霰石没有双晶。对于每个硬化小体,结晶学的 c 轴与硬化小体的形态长轴平行,a 轴垂直于其宽度,b 轴位于硬化小体的宽度内。硬化小体的单晶性及其在硬化组织中的组织方式非常突出。硬化小体和硬化组织中的硬化小体排列不是由特定的晶体生长模式决定的,而是由分泌细胞固有的。我们认为,硬化小体的形态特征和硬化小体霰石的结晶择优取向(纹理)不是竞争生长选择的结果。它是由分泌细胞的有机物质和相关细胞外生物聚合物的模板效应产生的。