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Figure 6 | BMC Structural Biology

Figure 6

From: The structure of mollusc larval shells formed in the presence of the chitin synthase inhibitor Nikkomycin Z

Figure 6

Larval shell inner surfaces synthesized at the distal growth front in the presence of NikkomycinZ. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of shell specimens synthesized by mollusc larvae in the presence (10 μM) or absence (0 μM) of NikkomycinZ. The distal growth at the shell edges of 5 day old (a,b) and 22 day old (c,d) specimen is shown. Note the difference in smoothness and compactness between the 3 days (a,b) and 10 days (c,d) NikkomycinZ treated (b,d) and control (a,c) cultures. a. A well-developed shell is covered by flakes (dotted lines) that consist of a granular material. This shell layer is veiled by another fraction of fine dispersed material. b. NikkomycinZ treated larvae produce hackly shaped shell edges with irregular deposition of material on the inner surface (dotted line). c,d. At later developmental stages (22 days), well-developed shells (c) are more compact but still resemble the shell surface structure of the 5 day old control larva (a) in terms of the flakes (dotted lines) and the fine dispersed material fraction, whereas NikkomycinZ treatment causes the formation of irregular and hackly shaped rims at the shell's edge (d). The lack of fine dispersed material reveals interspaces with thin connections between the flakes (white arrowheads). Note that the size of the flakes decreases towards the edge. These data suggest that the inhibition of chitin synthase influences the lateral growth and may influence phase transitions in the biomineralization of larval shells on length scales of < 1 μm – 10 μm.

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