Proteomic analyses reveal the key role of gene co-option in the evolution of the scaly-foot snail scleritome.

ABSTRACT: Biomineralization, a key driving force underlying dramatic morphological diversity, is widely adopted by metazoans to incorporate inorganic minerals into their organic matrices. The scaly-foot snail Chrysomallon squamiferum from deep-sea hot vents uniquely possesses hundreds of sclerites on its foot in addition to a coiled shell, providing an exclusive case to study the formation of evolutionarily novel hard parts. Here, we identified the matrix proteins present in the exoskeletons of C. squamiferum and Gigantopelta aegis, a confamilial species from the same vent habitat but lacking sclerites, to uncover the genes and proteins presumably involved in the sclerite formation processes. Comparative multi-omics analyses suggest that C. squamiferum co-opted a diverse range of metazoan biocalcify

SUBMITTER: Wong WC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11871041 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature