Aragonite shells are more ancient than calcite ones in bivalves: new evidence based on omics.

ABSTRACT

Two calcium carbonate crystal polymorphs, aragonite and calcite, are the main inorganic components of mollusk shells. Some fossil evidences suggest that aragonite shell is more ancient than calcite shell for the Bivalvia. But, the molecular biology evidence for the above deduction is absent. In this study, we searched for homologs of bivalve aragonite-related and calcite-related shell proteins in the oyster genome, and found that no homologs of calcite-related shell protein but some homologs of aragonite-related shell proteins in the oyster genome. We explained the results as the new evidence to support that aragonite shells are more ancient than calcite shells in bivalves combined the published biogeological and seawater chemistry data.