---
DOAJ_listed: '1'
OA_place: publisher
OA_type: gold
PlanS_conform: '1'
_id: '20077'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a key extracellular matrix component of vertebrates,
    where it mediates cell adhesion, immune regulation, and tissue remodeling through
    its interaction with specific receptors. Although HA has been detected in a few
    invertebrate species, the lack of fundamental components of the molecular HA pathway
    poses relevant objections about its functional role in these species. Mining genomic
    and transcriptomic data, we considered the conservation of the gene locus encoding
    for the extracellular link protein (XLINK) in marine mussels as well as its expression
    patterns. Structural and phylogenetic analyses were undertaken to evaluate possible
    similarities with vertebrate orthologs and to infer the origin of this gene in
    invertebrates. Biochemical analysis was used to quantify HA in tissues of Mytilus
    galloprovincialis. As a result, we confirm that the mussel can produce HA (up
    to 1.02 ng/mg in mantle) and that its genome encodes two XLINK gene loci. These
    loci are conserved in Mytilidae species and show a complex evolutionary path.
    Mussel XLINK genes appeared to be expressed during developmental stages in three
    mussel species, ranking in the top 100 expressed genes in M. trossulus at 17 h
    post-fertilization. In conclusion, the presence of HA and an active gene with
    the potential to bind HA suggests that mussels have the potential to synthesize
    and use HA and are among the few invertebrates encoding this gene.
acknowledgement: 'This research was funded by the Italian Ministry of University and
  Research (MIUR), grant ID: P2022JEEMT (Developing a tool for the study of haplotype
  diversity in Mytilus galloprovincialis (HAMIGA)).'
article_number: '930'
article_processing_charge: Yes
article_type: original
author:
- first_name: Umberto
  full_name: Rosani, Umberto
  last_name: Rosani
- first_name: Nehir
  full_name: Altan, Nehir
  last_name: Altan
- first_name: Paola
  full_name: Venier, Paola
  last_name: Venier
- first_name: Enrico
  full_name: Bortoletto, Enrico
  last_name: Bortoletto
- first_name: Nicola
  full_name: Volpi, Nicola
  last_name: Volpi
- first_name: Carrie A
  full_name: Bernecky, Carrie A
  id: 2CB9DFE2-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
  last_name: Bernecky
  orcid: 0000-0003-0893-7036
citation:
  ama: Rosani U, Altan N, Venier P, Bortoletto E, Volpi N, Bernecky C. Ancestral origin
    and functional expression of a hyaluronic acid pathway complement in mussels.
    <i>Biology</i>. 2025;14(8). doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/biology14080930">10.3390/biology14080930</a>
  apa: Rosani, U., Altan, N., Venier, P., Bortoletto, E., Volpi, N., &#38; Bernecky,
    C. (2025). Ancestral origin and functional expression of a hyaluronic acid pathway
    complement in mussels. <i>Biology</i>. MDPI. <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/biology14080930">https://doi.org/10.3390/biology14080930</a>
  chicago: Rosani, Umberto, Nehir Altan, Paola Venier, Enrico Bortoletto, Nicola Volpi,
    and Carrie Bernecky. “Ancestral Origin and Functional Expression of a Hyaluronic
    Acid Pathway Complement in Mussels.” <i>Biology</i>. MDPI, 2025. <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/biology14080930">https://doi.org/10.3390/biology14080930</a>.
  ieee: U. Rosani, N. Altan, P. Venier, E. Bortoletto, N. Volpi, and C. Bernecky,
    “Ancestral origin and functional expression of a hyaluronic acid pathway complement
    in mussels,” <i>Biology</i>, vol. 14, no. 8. MDPI, 2025.
  ista: Rosani U, Altan N, Venier P, Bortoletto E, Volpi N, Bernecky C. 2025. Ancestral
    origin and functional expression of a hyaluronic acid pathway complement in mussels.
    Biology. 14(8), 930.
  mla: Rosani, Umberto, et al. “Ancestral Origin and Functional Expression of a Hyaluronic
    Acid Pathway Complement in Mussels.” <i>Biology</i>, vol. 14, no. 8, 930, MDPI,
    2025, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/biology14080930">10.3390/biology14080930</a>.
  short: U. Rosani, N. Altan, P. Venier, E. Bortoletto, N. Volpi, C. Bernecky, Biology
    14 (2025).
date_created: 2025-07-25T08:28:26Z
date_published: 2025-07-24T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2025-09-30T14:10:07Z
day: '24'
ddc:
- '570'
department:
- _id: CaBe
doi: 10.3390/biology14080930
external_id:
  isi:
  - '001557922100001'
file:
- access_level: open_access
  checksum: f5e059e66803fa54249c1db029aef0f6
  content_type: application/pdf
  creator: dernst
  date_created: 2025-07-31T09:11:09Z
  date_updated: 2025-07-31T09:11:09Z
  file_id: '20097'
  file_name: 2025_Biology_Rosani.pdf
  file_size: 1885781
  relation: main_file
  success: 1
file_date_updated: 2025-07-31T09:11:09Z
has_accepted_license: '1'
intvolume: '        14'
isi: 1
issue: '8'
language:
- iso: eng
month: '07'
oa: 1
oa_version: Published Version
publication: Biology
publication_identifier:
  issn:
  - 2079-7737
publication_status: published
publisher: MDPI
quality_controlled: '1'
status: public
title: Ancestral origin and functional expression of a hyaluronic acid pathway complement
  in mussels
tmp:
  image: /images/cc_by.png
  legal_code_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode
  name: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0)
  short: CC BY (4.0)
type: journal_article
user_id: 317138e5-6ab7-11ef-aa6d-ffef3953e345
volume: 14
year: '2025'
...