Antarctic bioconstructional bryozoans from Terra Nova Bay (Ross Sea): morphology, skeletal structures and biomineralization.

• Published in: Minerals
• Main Authors: Lombardi, Chiara, Kuklinski, Piotr, Spirandelli, Edoardo, Bruzzone, Giorgio, Raiteri, Giancarlo, Bordone, Andrea, Mazzoli, Claudio, López Correa, Matthias, van Geldern, Robert, Plasseraud, Laurent, Thomas, Jérôme, Marin, Frédéric
• Other Authors: Centro Ricerche Ambiente Marino S. Teresa, Agenzia nazionale per le nuove tecnologie, l'energia e lo sviluppo economico sostenibile (ENEA), Department of Marine Ecology, Polska Akademia Nauk = Polish Academy of Sciences = Académie polonaise des sciences (PAN), Institute of Marine Engineering - CNR (CNR-INM), Dipartimento di Geoscienze Padova, Università degli Studi di Padova = University of Padua (Unipd), Istituto di Science Marine (ISMAR ), National Research Council of Italy, GeoZentrum Nordbayern, Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg = University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU), Institut de Chimie Moléculaire de l'Université de Bourgogne Dijon (ICMUB), Université de Bourgogne (UB)-Institut de Chimie - CNRS Chimie (INC-CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Biogéosciences UMR 6282 (BGS), Université de Bourgogne (UB)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Research funded by the National Antarctic Research Program (PNRA, Italy), grant number PNRA 2016/AZ1.09. Complementary funding for SOM analysis provided via MC-COBRA project (2019–2020), financed by the University of Burgundy through the “BQR-Recherche en Réseau 2019” yearly program.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2023
• Subjects: Bryozoa; Antarctica; calcifying ecosystem; growth check lines; zooid morphometrics; skeletal organic matrix (SOM); seawater stable isotopes; climate change; [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology; Antarctic; Ross Sea; Terra Nova Bay; The Gib; Antarc*
• Online Access: https://u-bourgogne.hal.science/hal-04015855; https://u-bourgogne.hal.science/hal-04015855/document; https://u-bourgogne.hal.science/hal-04015855/file/minerals-13-00246.pdf; https://doi.org/10.3390/min13020246

International audience Among Antarctic bryozoans, some species are able to develop calcitic bioconstructions promoting habitat complexity, but the processes leading to biomineral formation are mostly unknown. The present work investigated three Antarctic bryozoans, from morphological to skeletal features, including the organic matrix associated with the skeleton (SOM). Cellarinella nutti Rogick, 1956 and Reteporella frigida Waters, 1904 were collected in November 2018 from a shallow site (25 m) and Cellarinella njegovanae Rogick, 1956 from a deep site (110 m) at Terra Nova Bay (Ross Sea, Antarctica). Both Cellarinella species showed 5–6 “growth check lines” (gcl) on their laminae. The morphometrical characterization conducted on the growth bands (gb) and zooids, within the band across bands, revealed a variability in length with time (C. nutti: from 4099 µm for gb1 to 1449 µm for gb6; C. njegovanae: from 1974 µm for gb 3 to 7127 µm for gb2). Zooid length varied within gb, from the proximal to the distal part of the bands, but differences also occurred across bands. The shortest zooids (~625 µm) were found at the proximal part and the longest (~ 1190 µm) in the middle part of the gb in C. nutti, whereas in C. njegovanae the shortest zooids (~ 660 µm) were found in the distal part and the longest (~1190 µm) in the proximal part of the gb. Micro-CT analyses indicated the ratio of basal zooidal walls (RbwT gcl/gb) ranged from 3.0 to 4.9 in C. nutti and from 2.3 to 5.9 in C. njegovanae, whereas Reteporella frigida did not form any gcl on either side of the colony. Preliminary characterizations of the SOM for the three species evidenced a mixture of proteins and polysaccharides with properties similar to those of better-known biominerals, in terms of quantity and electrophoretic behavior. In addition, a “lectin fingerprint” has been established for the first time in bryozoans, displaying the presence of chitin or chitin-related saccharides. Understanding the complexity of the processes regulating skeleton formation ...