McGinty, Erin L., Zenger, Kyall R., Taylor, Joseph U.U., Evans, Brad S., and Jerry, Dean R. (2011) Diagnostic genetic markers unravel the interplay between host and donor oyster contribution in cultured pearl formation. Aquaculture, 316 (1-4). pp. 20-24.

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Abstract

To produce a cultured pearl, a mantle allograft originating from a donor oyster is surgically implanted along with a shell bead nucleus into the gonad of a recipient oyster from the same species (termed the host oyster). Whilst, studies have shown that genomic DNA from a mantle allograft remains present in the pearl sac at the time of pearl harvest, what remains unclear is whether biomineralisation genes from the donor mantle allograft are transcriptionally active and contribute to pearl formation. To help resolve the interplay between host and donor genetic contribution in pearl formation, xenografts were produced, using two Pinctada species, P. maxima and P. margaritifera, to examine which species-specific nacreous genes (N66 and N44) were expressed in the pearl sac. Diagnostic DNA tests revealed that donor oyster cells not only remained present in the pearl sac at the time of pearl harvest, but were found for the first time to be transcriptionally active in the expression of biomineralisation genes, N44 and N66. These results confirm that the donor oyster is an important contributor to the biomineralisation process in pearl culture.

Understanding the role the donor and host oyster have in cultured pearl formation provides a solid foundation for elucidating the biological process in general, but it also provides valuable information that can be directly utilised for selective breeding programs in the cultured pearl industry.

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