Lipids from the nacreous and prismatic layers of two Pteriomorpha Mollusc shells

B. Farre (1) , Yannicke Dauphin (1)

1 IDES - Interactions et dynamique des environnements de surface

Mollusc shells are acellular biominerals, in which macromolecular structures are intimately associated with mineral phases. Most studies are devoted to proteins, despite sugars have been described. Lipids were extracted from the calcite prismatic and aragonite nacreous layer of two mollusc shells. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometry shows that lipids are present in both samples, but they are not similar. Thin layer chromatography confirms that lipids are different in the two studied layers, so that it may be suggested they are species-dependant. Although not yet deciphered, their role in biomineralization and fossilisation processes is probably important.

Keywords: Biominerals; Mollusc shells; FTIR; TLC; Lipids

Domains: Mineralogy; Biochemistry, Molecular Biology

B. Farre, Yannicke Dauphin. Lipids from the nacreous and prismatic layers of two Pteriomorpha Mollusc shells. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology / Comparative Physiology and Biochemistry, 2009, B 152, pp.103-109. ⟨10.1016/j.cbpb.2008.10.003⟩. ⟨insu-00378694⟩