%0 Journal Article
%T Attaching organic fibers to mineral: The case of the avian eggshell.
%A Buss DJ
%A Reznikov N
%A McKee MD
%J iScience
%V 26
%N 12
%D 2023 Dec 15
%M 38034363
%F 6.107
%R 10.1016/j.isci.2023.108425
%X Bird eggs possess a mineralized eggshell with a soft underlying fibrous membrane. These dissimilar material layers successfully evolved a structural attachment to each other as a conserved avian reproduction strategy essential to avian embryonic development, growth, and hatching of the chick. To understand how organic membrane fibers attach to shell mineral (calcite), 3D multiscale imaging including X-ray and electron tomography coupled with deep learning-based feature segmentation was used to show how membrane fibers are organized and anchored into shell mineral. Whole fibers embed into mineral across the microscale, while fine mineral projections (granules/spikes) insert into fiber surfaces at the nanoscale, all of which provides considerable surface area and multiscale anchorage at the organic-inorganic interface between the fibrous membrane and the shell. Such a reciprocal anchorage system occurring at two different length scales between organic fibers and inorganic mineral provides a secure attachment mechanism for avian eggshell integrity across two dissimilar materials.