The adult shell matrix protein repertoire of the marine snail Crepidula is dominated by conserved genes that are also expressed in larvae.

ABSTRACT: Mollusca is a morphologically diverse phylum, exhibiting an immense variety of calcium carbonate structures. Proteomic studies of adult shells often report high levels of rapidly-evolving, 'novel' shell matrix proteins (SMPs), which are hypothesized to drive shell diversification. However, relatively little is known about the phylogenetic distribution of SMPs, or about the function of individual SMPs in shell construction. To understand how SMPs contribute to shell diversification a thorough characterization of SMPs is required. Here, we build tools and a foundational understanding of SMPs in the marine gastropod species Crepidula fornicata and Crepidula atrasolea because they are genetically-enabled mollusc model organisms. First, we established a staging system of shell development in C.

SUBMITTER: Lopez-Anido RN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11401363 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature