Provides adhesiveness to the mussel's foot. Mussels produce one of the strongest water insoluble glues. The mussel's adhesive is a bundle of threads, called a byssus, formed by a fibrous collagenous core coated with adhesive proteins. Produced by the byssal gland. Almost exclusively composed of repeats of a decapeptide. Hydroxylated on second and third proline and last tyrosine residues (to L-DOPA = 3',4'-dihydroxyphenylalanine) of the tandem repeats. Sticky business - Issue 2 of September 2001