User:Capellac/Pearl Creation Process

Pearl Creation Process

Standard Process

In the process of pearl creation, 2 oysters are involved: a donor oyster, and a recipient oyster. The recipient oyster should be matured and reproductively conditioned while the donor oyster should be young and unconditioned. Conditioning is the process of weakening the recipient oyster so it will not reject the nucleus. A bead is then implanted to the recipient oyster. The best beads are from the shells of American mussels. This bead is called th e pearl nucleus. Then a mantle tissue from a donor oyster is placed on top of the bead, this will serve as a tissue graft so that the mantle from both the donor oyster and the recipient oyster can start growing together. The newly formed mantle is called the pearl nacre. The quality of the tissue graft from the donor is very important because it will dictate the color and quality of the nacre.

Advanced Process

The quality of pearl depends largely on the quality of the tissue graft from the donor oyster. The donor oyster is killed when the graft is taken. This posed a huge challenge in the pearl farming industry because the best oysters cannot be used for breeding to improve pearl quality. New studies found that it is possible to get a tissue from the donor oyster without killing it by administering anesthesia to the oyster prior to harvesting the pearl graft. The part where the tissue graft is taken is expected to grow back in a few months making it possible to reproduce the tissue graft from the best oysters producing the world's best pearls.

References

1. Gervis, M.H.; Sims, N.A. (1992). The biology and culture of pearl oysters (Bivalvia pteriidae). London, England: Overseas Development Administration of the United Kingdom. ISBN 978-9718709276.

2. Fassler, C.R. (1991). "Farming jewels: the aquaculture of pearls". Aquaculture Magazine.

3. Wada, K; Komaru, A. "Color and weight of pearls produced by grafting the mantle tissue from a selected population for white shell color of the Japanese pearl oyster Pinctada fucata martensii (Dunker)". Aquaculture 142 (1-2): 25–32. doi:10.1016/0044-8486(95)01242-7.

4. Mamangkey, N. Gustaf F.; Southgate, Paul C. "Regeneration of excised mantle tissue by the silver-lip pearl oyster, Pinctada maxima (Jameson)". Fish & Shellfish Immunology 27 (2): 164–174. doi:10.1016/j.fsi.2009.03.009.