Yes, it turns: experimental evidence of pearl rotation during its formation
| Type | Article | ||||||||
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| Date | 2015-07 | ||||||||
| Language | English | ||||||||
| Author(s) | Gueguen Yannick 1, 2, Czorlich Yann1, Mastail Max3, Le Tohic Bruno4, Defay Didier4, Lyonnard Pierre1, Marigliano Damien1, Gauthier Jean-Pierre5, Bari Hubert6, Lo Cedrik7, Chabrier Sebastien8, Le Moullac Gilles1 |
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| Affiliation(s) | 1 : IFREMER, UMR EIO 241, UPF ILM IRD, Labex Corail, BP 7004, Taravao 98719, Fr Polynesia. 2 : Univ Montpellier, CNRS, IFREMER, UMR IHPE 5244 ,UPVD, F-34095 Montpellier, France. 3 : IFREMER, Ctr Atlantique, F-44311 Nantes 03, France. 4 : Vega Ind, F-94200 Ivry, France. 5 : Lab ICP TEXINFINE, F-69006 Lyon, France. 6 : Qatar Museums, Pearl & Jewellery Museum, Doha, Qatar. 7 : Direct Ressources Marines & Min, Papeete 98713, Tahiti, Fr Polynesia. 8 : Univ Polynesie Francaise, Lab GEPASUD, Faaa 98702, Tahiti, Fr Polynesia. |
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| Source | Royal Society Open Science (2054-5703) (Royal Soc), 2015-07 , Vol. 2 , N. 7 , P. 150144 | ||||||||
| DOI | 10.1098/rsos.150144 | ||||||||
| WOS© Times Cited | 11 | ||||||||
| Keyword(s) | pearl oyster, pearl rotation, biomineralization | ||||||||
| Abstract | Cultured pearls are human creations formed by inserting a nucleus and a small piece of mantle tissue into a living shelled mollusc, usually a pearl oyster. Although many pearl observations intuitively suggest a possible rotation of the nucleated pearl inside the oyster, no experimental demonstration of such a movement has ever been done. This can be explained by the difficulty of observation of such a phenomenon in the tissues of a living animal. To investigate this question of pearl rotation, a magnetometer system was specifically engineered to register magnetic field variations with magnetic sensors from movements of a magnetic nucleus inserted in the pearl oyster. We demonstrated that a continuous movement of the nucleus inside the oyster starts after a minimum of 40 days post-grafting and continues until the pearl harvest. We measured a mean angular speed of 1.27° min−1 calculated for four different oysters. Rotation variability was observed among oysters and may be correlated to pearl shape and defects. Nature's ability to generate so amazingly complex structures like a pearl has delivered one of its secrets. | ||||||||
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