Catechol Oxidase in the Byssus of the Common Mussel,Mytilus EdulisL.

Abstract

The common mussel inhabits an environment of fluctuating temperatures, salinities and water turbulence. To help cope with these stresses, mussels have evolved some extraordinary structural and biochemical adaptations. The production of the byssus is one such adaptation. The byssus is a complex array of threads and adhesive plaques that serves alternatively to attach the mussel to solid objects, to absorb shock, or to scale a vertical face (Waite, 1983a; Price, 1983). Because of its location outside the animal's living tissues, the byssus cannot count on the same kind of repair and remodelling offered to structures within the animal. The byssus is thus confronted with two conflicting demands. One is to be a mechanically dynamic structure shielding the animal against the buffeting impact of waves; the other is to be chemically inert towards the hydrolytic action of sea water and microbial enzymes.