A team of Israeli and German scientists from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) and the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces have found an enamel-like layer in the mandibles of freshwater crayfish.
Researchers from BGU's Avram and Stella Goldstein-Goren Department of Biotechnology Engineering discovered that this species of crayfish protect their teeth against wear by producing a highly mineralized protective coating based on calcium phosphate (Nature Communications, May 15, 2012).
The "enamel" in the crayfish tooth serves as a protective layer for the softer under layer that is made, similar to the rest of the exoskeleton, from amorphous calcium carbonate.
The researchers said it was likely that vertebrates and this crayfish independently developed enamel-like tissues to address similar needs.
The BGU team is investigating the formation process of this material and its ramifications.
