Snail teeth provide clues to evolutionary adaptation and bioengineering applications
Snail teeth provide clues to evolutionary adaptation and bioengineering applications lead image
The phylum Mollusca has demonstrated adaptability across diverse habitats including oceans, lakes, deserts, hydrothermal vents, mountaintops, rocky terrain, rainforests, and urban landscapes. The impressive species diversification and ecological niches associated with each are largely due to the mollusk’s mouthpart, called the radula. This non-extensible chitinous membrane with rows of geometrically embedded teeth is responsible for mechanical food gathering and processing.
Krings and Gorb reviewed the known parameters contributing to radular performance and explored compositional and biomechanical mechanisms across different mollusk species. Around a dozen radular types exist within the mollusks, varying in the arrangement and number of teeth per transversal row.
“By analyzing the teeth of snails that scrape algae off rocks versus snails that consume softer plant material, we can uncover how environmental factors influence the development of different biomineralization strategies,” said author Wencke Krings. “This perspective enhances our understanding of mollusk evolution and provides potential targets for bioengineering applications.”
Using advanced imaging and analytical techniques, such as electron microscopy, confocal laser scanning, spectroscopy, and 3D printing techniques, the team observed the biomechanical behavior of the radula and how each radular component, such as tooth composition, hardness, supporting radular structures, and stress/strain distribution, contributes to the food-gathering and survival capabilities of different snail species.
“Understanding how snail teeth achieve their remarkable toughness through a combination of organic and inorganic components could lead to the design of new composites with enhanced performance and longevity,” said Krings.
Future projects will explore the impact of climate change and ocean acidification on the biomineralization processes in mollusks.
Source: “Performance of biological food processing interfaces: Perspectives on the science of mollusc radula” by Wencke Krings and Stanislav N. Gorb, Biointerphases (2024). This article can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.1116/6.0003672 .
This paper is part of The Future of Biointerface Science 2024 Collection, learn more here .
