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Byssal Thread
A byssus () is a bundle of filaments secreted by many species of bivalve mollusc that function to attach the mollusc to a solid surface. Species from several families of clams have a byssus, including pen shells ( Pinnidae), true mussels (Mytilidae), and Dreissenidae. Filaments Byssus filaments are created by certain kinds of marine and freshwater bivalve mollusks, which use the byssus to attach themselves to rocks, Substrate (marine biology), substrates, or seabeds. In edible mussels, the inedible byssus is commonly known as the "beard", and is removed before cooking. Many species of mussels secrete byssus threads to anchor themselves to surfaces, with Family (taxonomy), families including the Mytilidae The Mytilidae are a family (biology), family of small to large Marine life, marine and Brackish water, brackish-water bivalve molluscs in the order (biology), order Mytilida. One of the genera, ''Limnoperna fortunei, Limnoperna'', even inhabits f ..., Arcidae, Anomiidae, Pin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quinone
The quinones are a class of organic compounds that are formally "derived from aromatic compounds benzene.html" ;"title="uch as benzene">uch as benzene or naphthalene] by conversion of an even number of –CH= groups into –C(=O)– groups with any necessary rearrangement of double bonds", resulting in "a fully Conjugated system, conjugated cyclic diketone, dione structure". The archetypical member of the class is 1,4-benzoquinone or cyclohexadienedione, often called simply "quinone" (thus the name of the class). Other important examples are 1,2-benzoquinone (''ortho''-quinone), 1,4-naphthoquinone and 9,10-anthraquinone. The name is derived from that of quinic acid (with the suffix "-one" indicating a ketone), since it is one of the compounds obtained upon oxidation of quinic acid. Quinic acid, like quinine is obtained from cinchona bark, called quinaquina in the indigenous languages of Peruvian tribes. Properties Quinones are oxidized derivatives of aromatic compounds an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Atrina Pectinata
''Atrina pectinata'' is a species of bivalves belonging to the family Pinnidae. The species is found in the Old World. They are important in commercial fishing in Asia. They have the common name of ''kijogae'' 'pen shells'' ''A. pectinata'' is a sedentary long-lived species that lives up to 7 years. The byssus has been used in Sardinia to weave sea silk, as a replacement for the byssus of critically endangered '' Pinna nobilis''. Appearance ''A. pectinata'' are patchy with small clusters. They are commonly called ''kijogae'' 'pen shells''due to their resemblance to a traditional Korean tool. There are two physical morphs of ''A. pectinata'': scaly and smooth, as a result of how the shells develop. Recent research suggests that the two morphs are different enough for them to be taxonomically distinguishable. Distribution ''A. pectinata'' is widely located in the Indo-West Pacific. The shellfish is an inhabitant of muddy or sandy surfaces. In Korea, the shellfish is located ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sea Silk
Sea silk is an extremely fine, rare, and valuable fabric that is made from the long silky filaments or byssus secreted by a gland in the foot of pen shells (in particular '' Pinna nobilis''). The byssus is used by the mussel to attach itself to the sea bed. Sea silk was produced in the Mediterranean region from the large marine bivalve mollusc ''Pinna nobilis'' until early in the 20th century. The animal, whose shell is sometimes almost a metre long, adheres itself pointed end down to rocks in the intertidal zone using a tuft of very strong thin fibres. These byssi or filaments (which can be six centimetres long) are spun and, when treated with lemon juice, turn a golden colour, which never fades. The cloth produced from these filaments can be woven even more finely than silk, and is extremely light and warm; it was said that a pair of women's gloves made from the fabric could fit into half a walnut shell and a pair of stockings in a snuffbox. The cloth attracts clothe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Byssus Cloth
Sea silk is an extremely fine, rare, and valuable fabric that is made from the long silky filaments or byssus secreted by a gland in the foot of pen shells (in particular ''Pinna nobilis''). The byssus is used by the mussel to attach itself to the sea bed. Sea silk was produced in the Mediterranean region from the large marine bivalve mollusc ''Pinna nobilis'' until early in the 20th century. The animal, whose shell is sometimes almost a metre long, adheres itself pointed end down to rocks in the intertidal zone using a tuft of very strong thin fibres. These byssi or filaments (which can be six centimetres long) are spun and, when treated with lemon juice, turn a golden colour, which never fades. The cloth produced from these filaments can be woven even more finely than silk, and is extremely light and warm; it was said that a pair of women's gloves made from the fabric could fit into half a walnut shell and a pair of stockings in a snuffbox. The cloth attracts clothes moths ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pinna (genus)
''Pinna'' is a genus of bivalve molluscs belonging to the family Pinnidae. The type species of the genus is '' Pinna rudis''. These bivalves are sessile suspension feeders that live in shallow water, fixed to the substrate with a large, silky byssus. There are 32 different species in the genus ''Pinna'', accounting for around 40% of the diversity in the family Pinnidae, and members of the genus are present almost globally. The most extensively studied species in the genus is the critically endangered '' P. nobilis'', a Mediterranean pen shell which was historically important as the principal source of sea silk. Members of ''Pinna'' are also valued as sources of food, pearls and for the aesthetic value of their shells. Description These pen shells can reach a length of about . They are characterized by thin, elongated, wedge-shaped, and almost triangular shells with long, toothless edges. The surface of the shells shows radial ribs over their entire length. ''Pinna'' is distinguish ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pinna Nobilis
''Pinna nobilis'', known by the common names noble pen shell and fan mussel, is a large species of Mediterranean clam, a marine bivalve mollusc in the family Pinnidae, the pen shells.*''Pinna gigas'' Chemnitz It reaches up to of shell length.Zavodnik, D., Hrs-Brenko, M., & Legac, M. (1991). Synopsis of the fan shell ''P. nobilis'' L. in the eastern Adriatic sea. In the C. F. Boudouresque, M. Avon, & V. Gravez (Eds.), ''Les Especes Marines a Proteger en Mediterranee'' (pp. 169–178). Marseille, France: GIS Posidonie publ. It produces a rare manganese-containing porphyrin protein known as pinnaglobin. Description The bivalve shell is usually long, but can reach . Its shape differs depending on the region it inhabits. Like all pen shells, it is relatively fragile to pollution and shell damage. It attaches itself to rocks using a strong byssus composed of many silk-like threads which used to be made into cloth. The animal secretes these fibres from its byssus gland; ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the west almost by the Morocco–Spain border. The Mediterranean Sea covers an area of about , representing 0.7% of the global ocean surface, but its connection to the Atlantic via the Strait of Gibraltar—the narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates the Iberian Peninsula in Europe from Morocco in Africa—is only wide. Geological evidence indicates that around 5.9 million years ago, the Mediterranean was cut off from the Atlantic and was partly or completely desiccated over a period of some 600,000 years during the Messinian salinity crisis before being refilled by the Zanclean flood about 5.3 million years ago. The sea was an important rout ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coacervation
Coacervate ( or ) is an aqueous phase rich in macromolecules such as synthetic polymers, proteins or nucleic acids. It forms through liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS), leading to a dense phase in thermodynamic equilibrium with a dilute phase. The dispersed droplets of dense phase are also called coacervates, micro-coacervates or coacervate droplets. These structures draw a lot of interest because they form spontaneously from aqueous mixtures and provide stable compartmentalization without the need of a membrane—they are protocell candidates. The term coacervate was coined in 1929 by Dutch chemist Hendrik G. Bungenberg de Jong and Hugo R. Kruyt while studying lyophilic colloidal dispersions. The name is a reference to the clustering of colloidal particles, like ''bees in a swarm''. The concept was later borrowed by Russian biologist Alexander I. Oparin to describe the proteinoid microspheres proposed to be primitive cells (protocells) on early Earth. Coacervate-like protocells ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cross-link
In chemistry and biology, a cross-link is a bond or a short sequence of bonds that links one polymer chain to another. These links may take the form of covalent bonds or ionic bonds and the polymers can be either synthetic polymers or natural polymers (such as proteins). In polymer chemistry "cross-linking" usually refers to the use of cross-links to promote a change in the polymers' physical properties. When "crosslinking" is used in the biological field, it refers to the use of a probe to link proteins together to check for protein–protein interactions, as well as other creative cross-linking methodologies. Although the term is used to refer to the "linking of polymer chains" for both sciences, the extent of crosslinking and specificities of the crosslinking agents vary greatly. Synthetic polymers : 260px, left, Chemical reactions associated with crosslinking of drying oils, the process that produces curing'' refers to the crosslinking of thermosetting">linoleum. Cros ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Catechol
Catechol ( or ), also known as pyrocatechol or 1,2-dihydroxybenzene, is an organic compound with the molecular formula . It is the ''ortho'' isomer of the three isomeric benzenediols. This colorless compound occurs naturally in trace amounts. It was first discovered by destructive distillation of the plant extract catechin. About 20,000 tonnes of catechol are now synthetically produced annually as a commodity organic chemical, mainly as a precursor to pesticides, flavors, and fragrances. Small amounts of catechol occur in fruits and vegetables. Isolation and synthesis Catechol was first isolated in 1839 by Edgar Hugo Emil Reinsch (1809–1884) by distilling it from the solid tannic preparation catechin, which is the residuum of catechu, the boiled or concentrated juice of ''Mimosa catechu'' ('' Acacia catechu''). Upon heating catechin above its decomposition point, a substance that Reinsch first named ''Brenz-Katechusäure'' (burned catechu acid) sublimated as a white efflo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yeast
Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom (biology), kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are estimated to constitute 1% of all described fungal species. Some yeast species have the ability to develop multicellular characteristics by forming strings of connected budding cells known as pseudohyphae or false hyphae, or quickly evolve into a Multicellular organism, multicellular cluster with specialised Organelle, cell organelles function. Yeast sizes vary greatly, depending on species and environment, typically measuring 3–4 micrometre, μm in diameter, although some yeasts can grow to 40 μm in size. Most yeasts reproduce asexual reproduction, asexually by mitosis, and many do so by the asymmetric division process known as budding. With their single-celled growth habit, yeasts can be contrasted with Mold (fungus), molds, wh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
