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Does a nano-scale nipple array (moth-eye structure) suppress the settlement of ascidian larvae?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 April 2019

Euichi Hirose Open the ORCID record for Euichi Hirose [Opens in a new window]  and
Noburu Sensui
Euichi Hirose*
Affiliation:
Department of Chemistry, Biology and Marine Science, Faculty of Science, University of the Ryukyus, Nishihara, Okinawa 903-0213, Japan
Noburu Sensui
Affiliation:
Department of Human Biology and Anatomy, Graduate School of Medicine, University of the Ryukyus, Nishihara, Okinawa 903-0215, Japan
*
Author for correspondence: Euichi Hirose, E-mail: euichi@sci.u-ryukyu.ac.jp
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Abstract

In some metazoans, the body surface is entirely or partly covered with an array of nipples about 100 nm or less in height. This structure, a nipple array, is sometimes called the moth-eye structure because it serves as an anti-reflection property on the compound eyes of a night moth. The nipple array is supposed to be a multifunctional structure since this structure occurs in various species across different taxa. Here, we hypothesize that the nipple array may prevent the settlement of epibionts that are often a nuisance and potentially cause serious problems for the host. Using a synthetic film that imitates the nipple array, we tested the substrate selection within ascidian larval settlement. The results indicate that the nipple array has anti-fouling properties, since more larvae settled on the flat surface than the nipple array (P < 0.01, paired t-test). The present results demonstrated that the nipple array potentially serves an anti-fouling function on the body surface, which should be important especially for sessile organisms.

Keywords

Ascidianslarval settlementmoth-eye structureMOSMITE™substrate selectionwettability
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 99 , Issue 6 , September 2019 , pp. 1393 - 1397
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2019 

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