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14px; "><br></div><div style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0p Biologists sometimes want to stick bits of animal tissue samples down to things or to seal tissue wounds to themselves, and some cyanoacrylate adhesive products (Vetbond?) supposedly permit this, allowing adhesion even in the presence of surface water. The byssus glue on the tips of the Mytilus threads of course has to set under sea water, so should be ideal for this. A few years ago I saw some advertized commercially, extracted somehow. Not an economical buy though, as I recall, the price being about $1000 -- I think this was for only a microgram of the stuff. Steve, Halifax ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Quoting "James W. Wolford" <jimwolford@eastlink.ca>: > A bit more thought would have made my answer below much more > positive. I used to collect living invertebrates from the > intertidal flats and bring them into my lab for a field biology > class I taught at Acadia Univ. Biology. I put the living critters > in enamel pans in salt water and kept them alive like that in a > regular refrigerator in the lab, and they would stay alive and > apparently reasonably healthy for considerable periods. Well, the > blue mussels very quickly secreted new byssus threads and attached > to the enamel surface of the pans, and I couldn't believe how > nearly impossible it was to clean those pans afternward, since the > threads were unbelievably tough. No sort of scrubbing device would > remove the stuck tips of those threads. Cheers from Jim in Wolfville > > Begin forwarded message: > >> From: bckcdb@istar.ca >> Date: October 9, 2011 9:24:15 AM ADT >> To: NatureNS <naturens@chebucto.ns.ca> >> Subject: Re: [NatureNS] a question re Blue Mussel attachment ? >> Reply-To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca >> >> Quoting "James W. Wolford" <jimwolford@eastlink.ca>: >> >>> I think the mussel can re-secrete those strong threads and re- >>> attach to substrates, but I am forwarding to people who probably >>> are better able to answer the question. >> >> * yes they can secrete new bysuss threads, and can move along >> slowly across the substrate by spinning new threads and breaking >> off old ones. >> >> fred schueler. >> ====================================================== >> >>> >>> Begin forwarded message: >>> >>>> From: Dusan Soudek <soudekd@ns.sympatico.ca> >>>> Date: October 8, 2011 7:55:06 PM ADT >>>> To: NatureNS <naturens@chebucto.ns.ca> >>>> Subject: [NatureNS] a question re Blue Mussel attachment ? >>>> Reply-To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca >>>> >>>> A question for the invertebrate zoologists out there: Can a >>>> Blue Mussel (Mytilus edulis) re-attach itself to a substrate >>>> such as a rock or a piling if it had been separated from it? Its >>>> adhesion threads are quite strong, but can the animal repair or >>>> re-form new ones if the old ones are broken? >>>> Dusan Soudek >>>
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