Author: ["Hermann Ehrlich","Rainer Deutzmann","Eike Brunner","Enrico Cappellini","Hannah Koon","Caroline Solazzo","Yue Yang","David Ashford","Jane Thomas-Oates","Markus Lubeck","Carsten Baessmann","Tobias Langrock","Ralf Hoffmann","Gert Wörheide","Joachim Reitner","Paul Simon","Mikhail Tsurkan","Aleksander V. Ereskovsky","Denis Kurek","Vasily V. Bazhenov","Sebastian Hunoldt","Michael Mertig","Denis V. Vyalikh","Serguei L. Molodtsov","Kurt Kummer","Hartmut Worch","Victor Smetacek","Matthew J. Collins"]
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Abstract
The minerals involved in the formation of metazoan skeletons principally comprise glassy silica, calcium phosphate or carbonate. Because of their ancient heritage, glass sponges (Hexactinellida) may shed light on fundamental questions such as molecular evolution, the unique chemistry and formation of the first skeletal silica-based structures, and the origin of multicellular animals. We have studied anchoring spicules from the metre-long stalk of the glass rope sponge (Hyalonema sieboldi; Porifera, Class Hexactinellida), which are remarkable for their size, durability, flexibility and optical properties. Using slow-alkali etching of biosilica, we isolated the organic fraction, which was revealed to be dominated by a hydroxylated fibrillar collagen that contains an unusual [Gly–3Hyp–4Hyp] motif. We speculate that this motif is predisposed for silica precipitation, and provides a novel template for biosilicification in nature. Understanding how biosilica forms is crucial to our knowledge of this important biomaterial. Now, the role of collagen as structuring agent for the metre-long spicules of a primitive glass sponge has been revealed and found to have an unusual peptide motif. Cite this article
Ehrlich, H., Deutzmann, R., Brunner, E. et al. Mineralization of the metre-long biosilica structures of glass sponges is templated on hydroxylated collagen. Nature Chem 2, 1084–1088 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/nchem.899 