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Starfish—more accurately called sea stars—stick to underwater surfaces with tube feet that temporarily attach using adhesive secretions. In the studied species Asterias rubens, researchers have identified a blend of footprint proteins and a separate cell type associated with release. It is not one all-purpose “superglue”: attachment and detachment involve different parts of a specialized system.
How do starfish stick to things underwater?
Sea stars move and attach with rows of tube feet. Each tube foot ends in a disc that presses against a surface and secretes adhesive material into the narrow space between them. The attachment is temporary. When a tube foot detaches, some of that material remains on the surface as a footprint.
For A. rubens, descriptions of the footprint report two layers: a thin, relatively homogeneous primer against the surface and a thicker structural meshwork above it. This layered arrangement is one reason the secretion is better understood as a coordinated material than as a single glue molecule.
What is starfish glue made of?
In a 2022 study of A. rubens, researchers combined evidence from tube-foot gene activity and footprint proteins to catalogue 16 sea-star footprint proteins (Sfps). The authors proposed that the proteins have different jobs: two help couple the adhesive to a surface, six contribute cohesive strength within the material, and other proteins make up a binding matrix. Immunolabelling supported the proposed organization, but these roles describe a model for the studied species, not a universal map of every sea star’s adhesive. Royal Society Open Science (2022)
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The number 16 is not directly interchangeable with an earlier protein-band count. A 2012 biochemical analysis of soluble A. rubens footprint fractions found about 25 electrophoretic bands, including 11 abundant bands that the study could not identify at the time. A band seen in that method is not necessarily the same thing as a distinct protein identified in the later catalogue. Biofouling (2012)
How does a sea star let go?
Attachment is only half the mechanism. In A. rubens, researchers distinguish two adhesive cell types from a separate de-adhesive cell type in the tube-foot disc. A proteinase resembling astacin, associated specifically with the de-adhesive gland cells, has been proposed to weaken the bond between the adhesive material and the tube-foot surface during release. This makes detachment an active biological process rather than simply the glue wearing off.
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| Stage | What the studied A. rubens system does |
|---|---|
| Attach | Adhesive cells secrete a proteinaceous material; proposed Sfp roles include coupling it to the surface and giving it cohesive strength. |
| Release | A distinct de-adhesive cell type is associated with an astacin-like proteinase proposed to weaken the bond at the tube-foot surface. |
A 2024 scholarly chapter describes echinoderm tube feet more broadly as duo-gland systems: adhesive cells release a proteinaceous secretion, while de-adhesive cells enable detachment. Detailed adhesion research has focused especially on sea stars and regular sea urchins; it does not establish that every echinoderm group has an equally well-mapped molecular mechanism. 2024 scholarly chapter
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Why older explanations are not the whole story
An earlier 1985 study of the sea star Leptasterias hexactis observed adhesion to moderately anionic glass and to surfaces coated with anionic marine bacterial films. It proposed ionic interactions involving secreted films and glycosaminoglycans in release. That proposal belongs to a different species and experimental setting; later protein characterization adds molecular detail, so the older ionic-interaction explanation should not be treated as the final answer for all sea stars. 1985 study in the Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology
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Can starfish glue inspire underwater robots?
Yes, as a design idea. A 2025 Science Advances study demonstrated an artificial starfish-inspired tube foot with a soft hydrogel mouth attached to a rigid stem. Swelling changes the hydrogel from a straight form into a cupped pad, which deforms on contact. The researchers describe vacuum formation during detachment as part of its underwater adhesion and demonstrate switchable attachment, stimulus-triggered release, pneumatic detachment, and manipulation of rocks underwater. The study is a research demonstration; its record does not establish a product for sale. Science Advances (2025)
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| Natural sea-star tube foot | Artificial demonstration |
|---|---|
| Uses specialized gland cells and secreted biological adhesive material. | Uses a shape-changing hydrogel mouth, a rigid stem, and pressure- and vacuum-related mechanics. |
| Releases through a biological de-adhesive system in the studied species. | Demonstrates pneumatic detachment and stimulus-triggered release. |
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