The calcium phosphate shell barnacle Ibla cumingi possess distinguished shell matrix proteins from carbonate shell species Capitulum mitella
In biomineralization research, the evolutionary selection of calcium carbonate and calcium phosphate of skeletal has attracted considerable attention. Among invertebrates with hard exoskeletons, calcium carbonate is the predominant choice for exoskeletal biomineralization. And in the invertebrate groups that utilize both types of minerals, Brachiopoda is one representative, followed by barnacles. Barnacle Ibla cumingi is a representative crustacean species with a phosphate based hard exoskeleton. Extraction and analysis of shell matrix proteins (SMPs) from I. cumingi and another barnacle species with a calcium carbonate shell, Capitulum mitella, revealed the distinct SMPs group between these two species.