Gorgonin Explained

Gorgonin is a flexible^[1] scleroprotein which provides structural strength to gorgonian corals, a subset of the order Alcyonacea.^[2] Gorgonian corals have supporting skeletal axes made of gorgonin and/or calcite.^[3] Gorgonin makes up the joints of bamboo corals in the deep sea,^[4] and forms the central internal skeleton of sea fans. It frequently contains appreciable quantities of bromine, iodine, and tyrosine.

Gorgonin is diagenetically stable and is deposited in discrete annual growth rings in Primnoa resedaeformis, and possibly other species.^{[5] [6]}

Scientific use

Research has shown that measurements of the gorgonin and calcite within species of gorgonian corals can be useful in paleoclimatology and paleoceanography. Studies of the growth, composition, and structure of the skeleton of certain species of gorgonians, (e.g., Primnoa resedaeformis, and Plexaurella dichotoma) can be highly correlated with seasonal and climatic variation.^{[7] [8] [9]}

Notes and References

1. Web site: Sea fan . 2024-07-12 . Encyclopaedia Britannica . en.
2. Book: Borneman, Eric H. . Aquarium Corals: Selection, Husbandry, and Natural History . T.F.H. Publications . 2001 . 1-890087-47-5 . Neptune City, NJ 07753 . 464.
3. Daly, M., M.R. Brugler, P. Cartwright, A.G. Collins, M.N. Dawson, D.G. Fautin, S.C. France, C.S. McFadden, D.M. Opresko, E. Rodriquez, S.L. Romano, J.L. Stake. (2007). The phylum Cnidaria: A review of phylogenetic patterns and diversity 300 years after Linnaeus. Zootaxa. (1668): 127–182., available online at http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/2007f/zt01668p182.pdf
4. Ehrlich . H. . Etnoyer . P. . Litvinov . S. D. . Olennikova . M.M. . Domaschke . H. . Hanke . T. . Born . R. . Meissner . H. . Worch . H. . June 2006 . Biomaterial structure in deep-sea bamboo coral (Anthozoa: Gorgonacea: Isididae): perspectives for the development of bone implants and templates for tissue engineering . Materialwissenschaft und Werkstofftechnik . en . 37 . 6 . 552–557 . 10.1002/mawe.200600036 . 0933-5137.
5. Sherwood . Owen A. . Lehmann . Moritz F. . Schubert . Carsten J. . Scott . David B. . McCarthy . Matthew D. . 2011-01-18 . Nutrient regime shift in the western North Atlantic indicated by compound-specific δ 15 N of deep-sea gorgonian corals . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . en . 108 . 3 . 1011–1015 . 10.1073/pnas.1004904108 . free . 0027-8424 . 3024653 . 21199952.
6. Sherwood . Owen A. . Scott . David B. . Risk . Michael J. . 2006-06-01 . Late Holocene radiocarbon and aspartic acid racemization dating of deep-sea octocorals . Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta . 70 . 11 . 2806–2814 . 10.1016/j.gca.2006.03.011 . 2006GeCoA..70.2806S . 0016-7037.
7. Heikoop . J.M. . M.J. Risk . C.K. Shearer . V. Atudorei . Potential climate signals from the deep-sea gorgonian coral Primnoa resedaeformis . . 471 . 1–3 . 117–124 . March 2002 . 10.1023/A:1016505421115. 7432164 .
8. Book: Sherwood , Owen A. . Jeffrey M. Heikoop . Daniel J. Sinclair . David B. Scott . Michael J. Risk . Chip Shearer . Kumiko Azetsu-Scott . Cold-Water Corals and Ecosystems . Springer Berlin Heidelberg . 2005 . 1061–1079 . Erlangen Earth Conference Series . 10.1007/3-540-27673-4 . 978-3-540-24136-2 .
9. Bond . Zoë A. . Anne L. Cohen . Struan R. Smith . William J. Jenkins . Growth and composition of high-Mg calcite in the skeleton of a Bermudian gorgonian (Plexaurella dichotoma): Potential for paleothermometry . Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems . 6 . Q08010 . 2005-08-31 . 10.1029/2005GC000911 . 8. 2005GGG.....6.8010B . 1912/396 . 128703481 . free .