[Coral-List] FishMed-PhD: seminar by Prof. Steve Weiner (Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel)?==?utf-8?q? (link on e-mail below)

[info@marinesciencegroup.org]

Dear All,

TUESDAY MARCH 2nd, from 10:00 to 12:00 (Italy time), through the online platform Teams, we look forward to attending with all of you the following seminar:
 "Pteropod Shell Mineral and Structure: one of the major calcifiers in the oceans"
On that occasion, a special guest, Prof. Steve Weiner from the Department of Chemical and Structural Biology at the Weizmann Institute of Science (Israel) will give a seminar on the peculiar shell structure of pteropods and its implications for the rates of dissolution in the marine water column and the distribution of pteropod shells in sediments (please find below the seminar details).
The seminar is provided within the teaching week of the International Doctoral Program FishMed-PhD (www.FishMed-PhD.org). Anyone can access the virtual room by using the link below. Feel free to forward the program to any colleagues and/or students that might be interested.

Link: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_ZmEzN2IzZGEtOGUzMy00MGFiLWJhMjItZThhZWQ3NzdiMjQw%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22e99647dc-1b08-454a-bf8c-699181b389ab%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22c641a4e0-ba19-4448-a1d6-d09d6a9c8539%22%7d

Authors: Odelia Nevo-Sibony, Steve Weiner, Bracha Viviana Farstey, Iddo Pinkus, Linda Shimon, Katya Rechav, Eyal Shimoni, Neta Varsano and Lia Addadi

Abstract: Pteropods are nektonic gastropods that are found in the surface waters of all oceans. They form thin aragonitic shells, and are the main producers of aragonite in the oceans. The shells of one group of pteropods are composed of thin elongated and curved crystals, that are thought to have a helical structure. Here we use FIB SEM to determine the 3D structure of one species, Creseis acicula, and show that the basic motif is not helical, but is composed of nested arrays of S-shaped crystals. We show that the crystalline aragonite in the mature shell of this species forms via a disordered transient nascent phase of aragonite. We also show that the adult shell is composed of less ordered aragonite compared to geological single crystals and is hence more soluble. This may have widespread implications for the rates of dissolution of pteropod aragonite in the marine water column and the distribution of pteropod shells in the sediments.


Don’t miss it!
 
The MSG Staff