Mussels possess distinct vanadium and iron storage systems for fabricating metal-reinforced adhesive fibers.

Mussels’ byssus biofabrication uses distinct iron and vanadium storage systems, with vanadium coordinated by DOPA and iron housed in ferritin-like structures.

• Why it matters: The natural way mussels incorporate metals during byssus formation is poorly understood, limiting mussel-inspired materials that rely on DOPA–metal cross-links for mechanical performance.
• What they did: Using confocal Raman, synchrotron μ-XRF and μ-XAS, and scanning transmission electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, the mussel foot was analyzed across multiple length scales for metal coordination environments.
• The result: The metals occupy separate coordination environments—vanadium is DOPA-based and iron is ferritin-like—suggesting mussels evolved a catechol-based storage system to acquire and later use trace vanadium for mechanical reinforcement.

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