Spongin
| Spongin | ||
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Spongin (from Greek Σπόγγος, Spongos = sponge ) is a collagen-like structural protein that forms structural fibers in most sponges (Porifera), such as horned silica sponges (Demospongiae). These spongin fibers link the sponge needles ( spicula ) made up of lime and silicates in the mesohyl and thus give the sponge its shape and allow nutrients to flow through the formation of a canal system. Spongin plays an important role in horned silica sponges (Dictyoceratida), as they cannot have spicules and the entire skeleton is thus formed from spongin.
Lime sponges (Calcarea) and glass sponges (Hexactinellida) have no spongin fibers and therefore only build their structure from lime and silicate spicula.
composition
The protein chain consists of 15.76% glycine , 8% serine , 5.75% arginine , 5.15% lysine , 2.2% valine and 1.5% cystine . Special features include 0.41% bromine (as dibromotyrosine ) and 0.5–1.5% iodine (mainly as mono- and diiodotyrosine ).
literature
- D. Anderson: Invertebrate Zoology. Oxford University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-19-551368-1 .
- R. Brusca, G. Brusca: Invertebrates. Sinauer Associates, 2003, ISBN 0-87893-097-3 , p. 191.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Entry on Spongin. In: Römpp Online . Georg Thieme Verlag, accessed on May 16, 2015.