Nacre, the crown jewel of natural materials, has been extensively studied owing to its remarkable physical properties for over 160 years. Yet, the precise structural features governing its extraordinary strength and its growth mechanism remain elusive. In this paper, we present a series of observations pertaining to the red abalone (Haliotis rufescens) shell's organic-inorganic interface, organ...

While gene duplication is a major source of evolutionary novelty, the importance of this process in reproductive protein evolution has not been widely investigated. Here, we report the first known case of gene duplication of abalone sperm lysin in an allopatric subspecies found in the Eastern Atlantic, Haliotis tuberculata coccinea. Mass spectrometry identified both copies of the lysin protein ...

We use a central place forager model for shellfish processing to understand Middle Holocene (7550– 3600 cal BP) human settlement patterns on California’s Northern Channel Islands. This period was associated with increasing sedentism and special purpose sites. We examine the processing and transport costs of two high-ranked shellfish species collected during the Middle Holocene, red abalone (Hal...

A dynamic model that links biokinetics and consumer-resource dynamics for describing zinc (Zn) accumulation in abalone Haliotis diversicolor supertexta has been developed and then applied to Zn data from real abalone farms. The biokinetic parameters used in this study, uptake and depuration rate constants of abalone and their food source, red alga Gracilaria tenuistipitata var. liui, were obtai...

Winter cress (Barbarea vulgaris) is resistant to a range of insect species. Some B. vulgaris genotypes are resistant, whereas others are susceptible, to herbivory by flea beetle larvae (Phyllotreta nemorum). Metabolites involved in resistance to herbivory by flea beetles were identified using an ecometabolomic approach. An F2 population representing the whole range from full susceptibility to f...

The role of the oxidative burst, transient production of activated oxygen species such as H(2)O(2) and superoxide (O(2) (-)) in elicitation of phytoalexins and the hypersensitive reaction (HR) was investigated in white clover (Trifolium repens L.) and tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.). H(2)O(2) and O(2) (-) production was measured as chemiluminescence (CL) mediated by luminol, which was added to s...