Gorgonin is a complex protein that makes up the horny skeleton of the holaxonia suborder of gorgonians. It frequently contains appreciable quantities of bromine

Bromine

Bromine ") is a chemical element with the symbol Br, an atomic number of 35, and an atomic mass of 79.904. It is in the halogen element group. The element was isolated independently by two chemists, Carl Jacob Löwig and Antoine Jerome Balard, in 1825–1826...

, iodine

Iodine

Iodine is a chemical element with the symbol I and atomic number 53. The name is pronounced , , or . The name is from the , meaning violet or purple, due to the color of elemental iodine vapor....

, and tyrosine

Tyrosine

Tyrosine or 4-hydroxyphenylalanine, is one of the 22 amino acids that are used by cells to synthesize proteins. Its codons are UAC and UAU. It is a non-essential amino acid with a polar side group...

.

Scientific use

Research has shown that measurements of the gorgonin and calcite within species of gorgonia can be useful in paleoclimatology

Paleoclimatology

Paleoclimatology is the study of changes in climate taken on the scale of the entire history of Earth. It uses a variety of proxy methods from the Earth and life sciences to obtain data previously preserved within rocks, sediments, ice sheets, tree rings, corals, shells and microfossils; it then...

  and paleoceanography

Paleoceanography

Paleoceanography is the study of the history of the oceans in the geologic past with regard to circulation, chemistry, biology, geology and patterns of sedimentation.- Source of information :...

. Studies of the growth, composition, and structure of the skeleton of certain gorgonia species, (e.g., Primnoa resedaeformis, and Plexaurella dichotoma) can be highly correlated with seasonal and climatic variation.