Chemical evidence of rare porphyrins in purple shells of Crassostrea gigas oyster

• Published in: Scientific Reports
• Main Authors: Bonnard, Michel, Cantel, Sonia, Boury, Bruno, Parrot, Isabelle
• Other Authors: Institut des Biomolécules Max Mousseron Pôle Chimie Balard (IBMM), Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Montpellier (ENSCM)-Institut de Chimie - CNRS Chimie (INC-CNRS)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut Charles Gerhardt Montpellier - Institut de Chimie Moléculaire et des Matériaux de Montpellier (ICGM)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2020
• Subjects: MESH: Animals Shells; MESH: Animals; MESH: Porphyrins; MESH: Tetrapyrroles; MESH: Chlorophyll; MESH: Chromatography; High Pressure Liquid; Reserve-Phase; MESH: Color; MESH: Crassostrea; MESH: Luminescent Measurements; MESH: Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; MESH: Microscopy; Electron; Scanning; [CHIM]Chemical Sciences; Crassostrea gigas
• Online Access: https://hal.umontpellier.fr/hal-02918376; https://hal.umontpellier.fr/hal-02918376/document; https://hal.umontpellier.fr/hal-02918376/file/s41598-020-69133-5.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-69133-5

International audience The colour of oyster shells is a very diverse characteristic morphotype, forming intriguing vivid patterns both on the inside and outside of the shell. In the present study, we have identified for the first time, the presence of several porphyrins as constituents of the shell pigmentation of the Crassostrea gigas oyster consumed worldwide. The precise molecular structures of halochromic, fluorescent and acid-soluble porphyrins, such as uroporphyrin and turacin, are unambiguously determined by reverse phase liquid chromatography combined with high resolution mass spectrometry. Their presence account for the purple colouration of shells but also for the dark colouration of adductor muscle scars. We have also defined the endogenous origin of these porphyrins, specifically secreted or accumulated by the shell forming tissue. These findings are pioneering analytical proofs of the existence of the haem pathway in the edible oyster Crassostrea gigas, evidenced by the chemical identification of haem side-products and supported by the recent publication of the corresponding oyster genome.