AUTHOR=Wang Yadong , Zhang Rongqing , Liu Chuang 

TITLE=A novel protein CtCBP-1 functions as a crucial macromolecule during mineralization of limpet teeth

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Marine Science

VOLUME=Volume 9 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/marine-science/articles/10.3389/fmars.2022.1038644

DOI=10.3389/fmars.2022.1038644

ISSN=2296-7745

ABSTRACT=Limpets are a class of marine mollusks that use mineralized teeth, one of the hardest and strongest biological materials, to feed on algae on rocks. By combining proteomics and RNA-seq analysis of limpet radula, we identified a novel chitin-binding protein (CtCBP-1) that may play a regulatory role in radula mineralization of Cellana toreuma. In this study, the full-length cDNA of CtCBP-1 gene was cloned for the first time, and the protein was successfully expressed in vitro. In vitro experiments demonstrated that CtCBP-1 binds well to both goethite and chitin, which are key components of the cusp. We studied the function of CtCBP-1 on goethite crystallization in vitro, revealing that it changed the morphology of goethite crystals. We also used fluorescence super resolution imaging to map the binding of CtCBP-1 in radula and found that the distribution of CtCBP-1 on radula was specific, which consistent with the SEM results finding tightly aligned goethite. This study identifies for the first time a novel protein, CtCBP-1, that plays a regulatory role in the unique biomineralization process of limpet teeth, which may guide biomimetic strat-egies aimed at designing hard materials at room temperature.