Occurrence, formation and function of organic sheets in the mineral tube structures of Serpulidae (polychaeta, Annelida)

PLoS One. 2013 Oct 7;8(10):e75330. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0075330. eCollection 2013.

Abstract

A scanning electron microscopy study of organic sheets in serpulid tube mineral structures was carried out to discern their function, formation and evolution. The organic sheets may have some taxonomic value in distinguishing the two major clades of serpulids previously identified. The organic sheets in the mineral tube structure occur only in certain taxa belonging to clade A, but not all species in clade A have them. Organic sheets are best developed in genus Spirobranchus. One could speculate that organic sheets have evolved as an adaption to further strengthen the mechanical properties of the tubes in clade A, which contains serpulids with the most advanced mineral tube microstructures. The organic sheets are presumably secreted with at least some mineral phase.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Evolution, Molecular
  • Microscopy, Electron, Scanning
  • Phylogeny*
  • Polychaeta / classification
  • Polychaeta / physiology*

Grants and funding

The author is indebted to a Sepkoski Grant (Paleontological Society), Estonian Science Foundation grant ETF9064 and the target-financed project (from the Estonian Ministry of Education and Science) SF0180051s08 for financial support. SYNTHESYS support under the European Commission’s FPVI European-funded Integrated Infrastructure Initiative to the projects NL-TAF-111 and SE-TAF-113 is acknowledged. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.