Pearl from Oyster An Organic Gem Like Fetus Is to Mother

Pearl from Oyster An Organic Gem Like Fetus Is to Mother
Article by Anuppa Caleekal , June 16th 2007 ©, Digitalism Magazine © www.digitalism.ca

In this issue, Digitalism Magazine’s Bridal Jewellery Whiteflash Campaign reflects upon the miraculous organic gem the pearl in light of another gem, the birth of a child in its miraculous journey from human conception to fetal development within the mother’s uterine cavity.

The pearl has for centuries been a preferred choice and associated gem for weddings , baptisms, graduations and mothers to be. Alberto Cotogno, Italian jewellery designer is Digitalism Magazine’s inspiration for this issue’s Whiteflash spotlight on the Great Pearl. As winner of De Beers Diamond-International Award 2000, and winner in Category Design of Tahitian Pearl Trophy in 2001; and winner of DTC Trilogy Award 2003, Alberto Cotogno’s works of “jewel sculptures” as seen below reflect the organic and natural setting of pearls intrinsically intimate with diamonds.

The journey of a pearl and that of the human fetus have a common destiny, as both find themselves implanted as foreign separate individual entities within a living being. What is miraculous is that both the pearl and the fetus when provided with a proper physiological environment prevail to exist and not rejected.

Pearl Oysters are classified in the phylum Mollusca are bivalvia and are of the Genus Pinctada with the three main Saltwater pearl producers being for the Akoya Pearl (Pinctada imbricata=fucata), the “White/Gold Lipped Oyster” (Pinctada maxima) and the “Black-Lipped Oyster” (Pinctada margaritifera).The Mabe Pearl is produced by the Pteria penguin or Penguin Winged Pearl Oyster. Unlike Saltwater pearls, Freshwater cultured pearls are produced by freshwater mussels.
The birth of a pearl is a natural process occurring in a pearl oyster when a parasite intruder such as drilling worms attempts to break into the shell, the stimulation makes the oyster irritated and secretes nacre also known as mother of pearl, the pearly substance, which is secreted only as a means of defense to the intrusion. The thickness in the coats of nacre determines the good quality of a cultured pearl which should have at least 0.8 mm of nacre. The composition of nacre is calcium carbonate consisting of crystalline mineral forms of argonite or calcite along with a organic component conchiolin. Conchiolin along with perlucin are complex proteins, the crucial organic macromolecules secreted by the mantle of the mollusc which provides the toughness and flexibility to the nacre matrix. When a bead or artificial parasite is inserted in the mollusc by man to make a cultured pearl, it takes two years for the oyster to coat the bead with 1mm of nacre. A novel matrix protein, designated as p10 has been found in the pearl oyster nacre which sheds light to nacre known to contain osteogenic factors. (See Footnote 1)

Interestingly in the human fetus , Prof. Lucia Mincheva-Nilsson from Dept. for Clinical Microbiology
Division Clinical Immunology of Umeå University in Sweden, has shown a pioneering and remarkable discovery as to why during pregnancy the fetus, a foreign entity is allowed to be implanted in the uterine cavity and not rejected by the mother’s immune defence system. Prof. Lucia Mincheva-Nilsson has found there is secretion of proteins by the surface cells of the placenta belonging to the fetus into the mother’s blood. This secretion in turn causes the mother’s white blood corpuscles called NK cells and cytotoxic T lymphocytes to be inhibited. In normal conditions the NK cells and cytotoxic T lymphocytes would reject and attack such an intrusion and the mother’s immune defense system would overpower.
Reference: Assoc. Prof. Lucia Mincheva-Nilsson, URL http://www.umu.se/climi/clinimm/forskning/LMN_eng.html
It is interesting how either an implanted bead or natural parasite within a pearl oyster stimulates nacre secretion as a defense mechanism in the oyster fostering the organic gem, and in the human pregnancy uterine environment, the fetus, also a foreign body fools the mother’s defense system to shut off the mother’s NK cells and cytotoxic T lymphocytes.

Both the pearl within the oyster and the human fetus in the uterine cavity need excellent environmental conditions for optimum qualitative results. Bivalve molluscs are filter feeders, with pearl oysters able to filter water at rates up to 25 l h-1 g-1 of dry wt. tissue . (See Footnote 2) Where the waters are contaminated with metals such as copper, a study has shown that the digestive gland of P. fucata pearl oyster was the main copper accumulation organ when oysters were exposed to low concentrations, whereas gills became the target organ in oysters exposed to high concentrations.(See Footnote 3)
In the human situation the umbilical cord is tissue that connects the placenta to the developing baby. It removes waste products and carbon dioxide from the baby and carries oxygen and nutrients from the mother through the placenta to the baby.
However toxic contaminants such as alcohol readily pass through the placenta and act as a teratogen ( which when prenatally exposed can cause serious risks to pre and post natal human development (Footnote 4 )

When optimum water and environmental conditions are protected oysters grow fast and healthy. In many respects pearl farming encourages the respect by its farmers to keep the environment clean from contamination for commercial purposes since healthy oysters living in a healthy environment will produce beautiful pearls. The same may be applied to human development and the commercial gain from healthy prenatal and post natal practices lead to healthy starts which in turn expand to healthy human resources and sound economic gain.

FOOTNOTES

1.Source:
A Novel Matrix Protein p10 from the Nacre of Pearl Oyster (Pinctada fucata) and Its Effects on Both CaCO3 Crystal Formation and Mineralogenic Cells .Authors: Zhang, Cen; Li, Shuo; Ma, Zhuojun; Xie, Liping1; Zhang, Rongqing, Marine Biotechnology, Volume 8, Number 6, December 2006 , pp. 624-633(10)Publisher: Springer)

2. Source:
Science of The Total Environment
Volume 319, Issues 1-3, 5 February 2004, Pages 27-37
Pearl aquaculture—profitable environmental remediation?
S. Gifforda, R. H. Dunstan, , a, W. O’Connorb, 1, T. Robertsa and R. Toiaa
a School of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Newcastle, Newcastle 2308, Australia
b NSW Fisheries, Port Stephens Fisheries Centre, Taylors Beach, Australia

3. Source:
Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part C: Toxicology & Pharmacology
Volume 144, Issue 2, October 2006, Pages 184-190
Metal accumulation and enzyme activities in gills and digestive gland of pearl oyster (Pinctada fucata) exposed to copper
Gu Jinga, Yu Lia, Liping Xiea, b, , and Rongqing Zhanga, b, ,
aInstitute of Marine Biotechnology, Department of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China

4. Source :