Data from: Acid secretion by the boring organ of the burrowing giant clam, Tridacna crocea

<b>Abstract</b><br/>The giant clam Tridacna crocea, native to Indo-Pacific coral reefs, is noted for its unique ability to bore fully into coral rock and is a major agent of reef bioerosion. However, T. crocea’s mechanism of boring has remained a mystery despite decades of research. By exploiting a new, two-dimensional pH-sensing technology and manipulating clams to press their presumptive boring tissue (the pedal mantle) against pH-sensing foils, we show that this tissue lowers the pH of surfaces it contacts by more than 2 pH units below seawater pH day and night. Acid secretion is likely mediated by vacuolar-type H<sup>+</sup>-ATPase, which we demonstrate (by immunofluorescence) is abundant in the pedal mantle outer epithelium. Our discovery of acid secretion solves this decades-old mystery and reveals that, during bioerosion, T. crocea can liberate reef constituents directly to the soluble phase, rather than producing sediment alone as earlier assumed.

<b>摘要</b><br/>巨蚌砗磲(Tridacna crocea)原生分布于印度-太平洋珊瑚礁海域，以其可完全钻蚀珊瑚岩石的独特能力而闻名，同时也是珊瑚礁生物侵蚀的主要作用媒介。尽管历经数十年研究，其钻蚀机制仍是未解之谜。本研究借助全新的二维pH传感技术，通过调控巨蚌使其推测的钻蚀组织（腹足外套膜(pedal mantle)）与pH传感箔片贴合，证实该组织可使接触表面的pH值日夜持续低于海水pH值2个单位以上。该酸分泌过程大概率由液泡型H⁺-ATP酶(vacuolar-type H+-ATPase)介导，我们通过免疫荧光(immunofluorescence)实验证实，该酶在腹足外套膜的外上皮细胞中大量富集。本次发现的酸分泌机制解开了这一长达数十年的谜题，并揭示在生物侵蚀过程中，T. crocea可直接将珊瑚礁组分释放至可溶性相，而非如此前研究所假设的仅产生沉积物。