Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

Biochemistry

Mussel muscle

Nature volume 442, page 877 (2006)Cite this article

Anyone who has gathered mussels from the seashore will have been impressed by their ability to stick to rocks — even when lashed by waves.

Mussels can fix themselves to almost any organic or inorganic surface using a series of threads. Phillip Messersmith and colleagues (Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA doi: 10.1073/pnas0605552103; 2006) now explain the role played in this gripping drama by an unusual amino acid named L-DOPA, which is found in at least five adhesive proteins in the mussel's threads.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on SpringerLink
  • Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Authors
  1. Andrew Mitchinson
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Mitchinson, A. Mussel muscle. Nature 442, 877 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/442877b

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/442877b

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing