Xanthurenic Acid in the Shell Purple Patterns of Crassostrea gigas: First Evidence of an Ommochrome Metabolite in a Mollusk Shell
Ommochromes are one of the least studied groups of natural pigments, frequently confused with melanin and, so far, exclusively found in invertebrates such as cephalopods and butterflies.In this study focused on the purple color of the shells of a mollusk, Crassostrea gigas, the first evidence of Western Pads Tough 1 a metabolite of ommochromes, xan