Calcification provides mechanical reinforcement to whale baleen α-keratin
Hard α-keratins such as hair, nail, wool and horn are stiff epidermal appendages used by mammals in a variety of functions including thermoregulation, feeding and intraspecific competition. Hard α-keratins are fibre-reinforced structures consisting of cytoskeletal elements known as ‘intermediate fil...
Published in: | Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
The Royal Society
2010
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2010.0399 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rspb.2010.0399 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rspb.2010.0399 |
id |
crroyalsociety:10.1098/rspb.2010.0399 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
crroyalsociety:10.1098/rspb.2010.0399 2024-06-02T08:04:02+00:00 Calcification provides mechanical reinforcement to whale baleen α-keratin Szewciw, L. J. de Kerckhove, D. G. Grime, G. W. Fudge, D. S. 2010 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2010.0399 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rspb.2010.0399 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rspb.2010.0399 en eng The Royal Society https://royalsociety.org/journals/ethics-policies/data-sharing-mining/ Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences volume 277, issue 1694, page 2597-2605 ISSN 0962-8452 1471-2954 journal-article 2010 crroyalsociety https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2010.0399 2024-05-07T14:16:57Z Hard α-keratins such as hair, nail, wool and horn are stiff epidermal appendages used by mammals in a variety of functions including thermoregulation, feeding and intraspecific competition. Hard α-keratins are fibre-reinforced structures consisting of cytoskeletal elements known as ‘intermediate filaments’ embedded in an amorphous protein matrix. Recent research has shown that intermediate filaments are soft and extensible in living keratinocytes but become far stiffer and less extensible in keratinized cells, and this stiffening may be mediated by air-drying. Baleen, the keratinous plates used by baleen whales during filter feeding, is an unusual mammalian keratin in that it never air dries, and in some species, it represents the most heavily calcified of all the hard α-keratins. We therefore tested the hypothesis that whale baleen is stiffened by calcification. Here, we provide, to our knowledge, the first comprehensive description of baleen material properties and show that calcification contributes to overcoming the shortcomings of stiffening this hard α-keratin without the benefit of air-drying. We also demonstrate striking interspecies differences in the calcification patterns among three species of baleen whales and provide novel insights into the function and evolution of this unusual biomaterial. Article in Journal/Newspaper baleen whales The Royal Society Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 277 1694 2597 2605 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
The Royal Society |
op_collection_id |
crroyalsociety |
language |
English |
description |
Hard α-keratins such as hair, nail, wool and horn are stiff epidermal appendages used by mammals in a variety of functions including thermoregulation, feeding and intraspecific competition. Hard α-keratins are fibre-reinforced structures consisting of cytoskeletal elements known as ‘intermediate filaments’ embedded in an amorphous protein matrix. Recent research has shown that intermediate filaments are soft and extensible in living keratinocytes but become far stiffer and less extensible in keratinized cells, and this stiffening may be mediated by air-drying. Baleen, the keratinous plates used by baleen whales during filter feeding, is an unusual mammalian keratin in that it never air dries, and in some species, it represents the most heavily calcified of all the hard α-keratins. We therefore tested the hypothesis that whale baleen is stiffened by calcification. Here, we provide, to our knowledge, the first comprehensive description of baleen material properties and show that calcification contributes to overcoming the shortcomings of stiffening this hard α-keratin without the benefit of air-drying. We also demonstrate striking interspecies differences in the calcification patterns among three species of baleen whales and provide novel insights into the function and evolution of this unusual biomaterial. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Szewciw, L. J. de Kerckhove, D. G. Grime, G. W. Fudge, D. S. |
spellingShingle |
Szewciw, L. J. de Kerckhove, D. G. Grime, G. W. Fudge, D. S. Calcification provides mechanical reinforcement to whale baleen α-keratin |
author_facet |
Szewciw, L. J. de Kerckhove, D. G. Grime, G. W. Fudge, D. S. |
author_sort |
Szewciw, L. J. |
title |
Calcification provides mechanical reinforcement to whale baleen α-keratin |
title_short |
Calcification provides mechanical reinforcement to whale baleen α-keratin |
title_full |
Calcification provides mechanical reinforcement to whale baleen α-keratin |
title_fullStr |
Calcification provides mechanical reinforcement to whale baleen α-keratin |
title_full_unstemmed |
Calcification provides mechanical reinforcement to whale baleen α-keratin |
title_sort |
calcification provides mechanical reinforcement to whale baleen α-keratin |
publisher |
The Royal Society |
publishDate |
2010 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2010.0399 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rspb.2010.0399 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rspb.2010.0399 |
genre |
baleen whales |
genre_facet |
baleen whales |
op_source |
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences volume 277, issue 1694, page 2597-2605 ISSN 0962-8452 1471-2954 |
op_rights |
https://royalsociety.org/journals/ethics-policies/data-sharing-mining/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2010.0399 |
container_title |
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |
container_volume |
277 |
container_issue |
1694 |
container_start_page |
2597 |
op_container_end_page |
2605 |
_version_ |
1800748659183190016 |