Analyses of growth performance by fluorescent substances and trace elements in mollusks

无论从基础还是从应用的角度来看，生物矿化研究都是较为重要的研究课题之一。软体动物壳含有大量关于其自身生长历史的信息，包括矿化和应力或疾病的持续条件。对这些信息的分析在海洋生物学和水产养殖中都是一个非常重要的因素。在医学和牙科科学中，应用荧光物质来分析生长性能和硬组织形成是很受欢迎的。鱼的耳石也可以通过浸泡在一些荧光物质中来标记。本研究的目的是开发一种用荧光物质标记双壳类贝壳和珍珠等软体动物硬组织的方法，以获得关于硬组织形成的有效信息。为了确定标记牡蛎壳的四环素(TC)和茜素络合酮(ALC)的最佳浓度和处理时间，对不同浓度和处理时间的组合进行了试验。在紫外光照射下，TC在牡蛎壳的背腹部分出现一条清晰的黄色荧光线。最佳处理条件为200 mg/L处理12~24 h，ALC处理12~24 h可观察到橙色斑点，TC和ALC双重处理效果较好。珍珠贝贝壳和珍珠的生长性能既有相似之处，也有不同之处。由于该处理方法对所研究动物的生长和存活没有可检测到的有害影响，因此将该方法应用于海洋矿化样品，如球虫、造礁珊瑚和软体动物，不仅在海洋生物学方面，而且在水产养殖业中都有很好的发展前景。

Biomineralization research is one of the more important research subjects from both a fundamental and applied point of view. The molluscan shells contain considerable information about their own growth history including the continuous condition of mineralization and stress or disease. Analysis of this information is a factor of great importance both in marine biology and in aquaculture. The application of fluorescent substances to the analysis of growth performance and hard tissue formation is popular in medical and dental sciences. The fish otoliths also can be marked by immersion in some fluorescent substances. The object of this study is to develop a method of marking the hard tissues of mollusks such as shell and pearl of bivalves with fluorescent substances in order to obtain effective information on hard tissue formation. To determine the optimum tetracycline (TC) and alizarine complexone (ALC) concentration and treatment time for marking the shells of oyster Crassostrea gigas various combinations of concentration and treatment time were tested. TC presented a clear yellow fluorescent line in the dorso-ventral section of oyster shells under UV light. The optimum condition for treatment was 200mg/l for 12-24 h. Orange mark was observed by ALC treatment at 150-300mg/l for 12-24 h. Double treatments by TC and by ALC were successful. Similarity and difference of growth performance between the shell and the pearl can be observed in the pearl oyster Pinctada fucata. Because the treatment had no detectable deleterious effects on the growth and survival of the animals studied, the application of the method to the marine mineralized samples such as coccolithophores, reef-building corals and mollusks should promise the development not only in marine biology but also in aquaculture.