Effect of light and nutrient restriction on the metabolism of calcium and vitamin D in land snails

✍ Scribed by Kriajev, Leonid ;Edelstein, Samuel

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1995
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 504 KB
• Volume: 272
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0022-104X
• DOI: 10.1002/jez.1402720209

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

Biomineralization in invertebrates, such as land snails, may serve as an excellent experimental model for understanding processes of skeletal calcification in higher organisms, the vertebrates. In the present study, the influence of nutrient and light restrictions on the calcification of the shell in land snails was investigated. It was found that nutrient and light restrictions led to an increase in weight and mineral content of shells. These events were accompanied by changes in the metabolism of vitamin D. The molluscan metabolite E was found to accelerate transfer of ^45^Ca from mantle to shell. On the basis of these findings it is suggested that in land snails adaptation to environmental changes such as light and nutritional restrictions is mediated by the vitamin D endocrine system. © 1995 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.