The Byssus of the Marine
Mussel
LIKE barnacles, marine
mussels attach themselves
to rocks, wood, or ship hulls.
However, unlike barnacles,
which fasten themselves
tightly to a surface, marine
mussels dangle by a network
of thin filaments called
byssus threads. While this
method increases the
mussel’s flexibility for feeding
and migration, the threads
seem too flimsy to withstand
the impact of ocean waves.
How does the byssus allow
the mussel to hang on and
not be swept out to sea?
Consider: Byssus threads
are stiff on one end, yet soft
and stretchy on the other.
Researchers have found that
the precise ratio used by the
mussel—80 percent stiff
material to 20 percent soft—
is critical for providing the
strongest attachment. Hence,
the byssus can handle the
force of dramatic pulling and
pushing by marine waters.
Professor Guy Genin calls
the results of this research
“stunning,” adding: “The
magic of this organism lies in
the structurally clever
integration of this compliant
region with the stiff region.”
Scientists believe that the
design of the byssus threads
could have uses as diverse
as attaching equipment to
buildings and underwater
vessels, connecting tendons
to bones, and sealing
surgical incisions. “Nature is
a bottomless treasure trove,
as far as adhesion strategies
go,” says J. Herbert Waite, a
professor at the University of
California in Santa Barbara,
U.S.A.
What do you think? Did the
byssus of the marine mussel
come about by evolution? Or
was it designed?