Other mussels have inspired synthetic polymers that have been
made into versatile adhesives and coatings, explained J. Herbert
Waite, senior author and a professor in UC Santa Barbara's
Marine Science Institute. They all rely on proteins that contain
an amino acid called "Dopa," (identical to the Dopa used to
treat Parkinson's disease) and have been studied extensively by
Waite and his research group. Waite learned that the green
mussel, Perna viridis, relies on an alternative to the common
"Dopa" chemistry, based on an elaborate modification of the
amino acid tryptophan in the green mussel's adhesive protein.
Its adhesive chemistry is much more complicated than that of
mussels previously studied. It took Waite and his team six years
to unravel the story. The green mussel's sticky adhesiveness has
the potential to help form strong bonds in wet surfaces,
including teeth and bones. In addition, the adhesive could be
used to repair ships that have developed cracks while at sea and
must be repaired in a wet envir