Amorphous calcium carbonate particles form coral skeletons
Do corals form their skeletons by precipitation from solution or by attachment of amorphous precursor particles as observed in other minerals and biominerals? The classical model assumes precipitation in contrast with observed “vital effects,” that is, deviations from elemental and isotopic composit...
Published in: | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |
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Online Access: | http://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1408474 https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1408474 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1707890114 |
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ftosti:oai:osti.gov:1408474 2023-07-30T04:06:05+02:00 Amorphous calcium carbonate particles form coral skeletons Mass, Tali Giuffre, Anthony J. Sun, Chang -Yu Stifler, Cayla A. Frazier, Matthew J. Neder, Maayan Tamura, Nobumichi Stan, Camelia V. Marcus, Matthew A. Gilbert, Pupa U. P. A. 2023-06-27 application/pdf http://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1408474 https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1408474 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1707890114 unknown http://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1408474 https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1408474 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1707890114 doi:10.1073/pnas.1707890114 59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES 58 GEOSCIENCES 2023 ftosti https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1707890114 2023-07-11T09:22:46Z Do corals form their skeletons by precipitation from solution or by attachment of amorphous precursor particles as observed in other minerals and biominerals? The classical model assumes precipitation in contrast with observed “vital effects,” that is, deviations from elemental and isotopic compositions at thermodynamic equilibrium. Here, we show direct spectromicroscopy evidence in Stylophora pistillata corals that two amorphous precursors exist, one hydrated and one anhydrous amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC); that these are formed in the tissue as 400-nm particles; and that they attach to the surface of coral skeletons, remain amorphous for hours, and finally, crystallize into aragonite (CaCO 3 ). We show in both coral and synthetic aragonite spherulites that crystal growth by attachment of ACC particles is more than 100 times faster than ion-by-ion growth from solution. Fast growth provides a distinct physiological advantage to corals in the rigors of the reef, a crowded and fiercely competitive ecosystem. Corals are affected by warming-induced bleaching and postmortem dissolution, but the finding here that ACC particles are formed inside tissue may make coral skeleton formation less susceptible to ocean acidification than previously assumed. If this is how other corals form their skeletons, perhaps this is how a few corals survived past CO 2 increases, such as the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum that occurred 56 Mya. Other/Unknown Material Ocean acidification SciTec Connect (Office of Scientific and Technical Information - OSTI, U.S. Department of Energy) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 114 37 |
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SciTec Connect (Office of Scientific and Technical Information - OSTI, U.S. Department of Energy) |
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unknown |
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59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES 58 GEOSCIENCES |
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59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES 58 GEOSCIENCES Mass, Tali Giuffre, Anthony J. Sun, Chang -Yu Stifler, Cayla A. Frazier, Matthew J. Neder, Maayan Tamura, Nobumichi Stan, Camelia V. Marcus, Matthew A. Gilbert, Pupa U. P. A. Amorphous calcium carbonate particles form coral skeletons |
topic_facet |
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES 58 GEOSCIENCES |
description |
Do corals form their skeletons by precipitation from solution or by attachment of amorphous precursor particles as observed in other minerals and biominerals? The classical model assumes precipitation in contrast with observed “vital effects,” that is, deviations from elemental and isotopic compositions at thermodynamic equilibrium. Here, we show direct spectromicroscopy evidence in Stylophora pistillata corals that two amorphous precursors exist, one hydrated and one anhydrous amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC); that these are formed in the tissue as 400-nm particles; and that they attach to the surface of coral skeletons, remain amorphous for hours, and finally, crystallize into aragonite (CaCO 3 ). We show in both coral and synthetic aragonite spherulites that crystal growth by attachment of ACC particles is more than 100 times faster than ion-by-ion growth from solution. Fast growth provides a distinct physiological advantage to corals in the rigors of the reef, a crowded and fiercely competitive ecosystem. Corals are affected by warming-induced bleaching and postmortem dissolution, but the finding here that ACC particles are formed inside tissue may make coral skeleton formation less susceptible to ocean acidification than previously assumed. If this is how other corals form their skeletons, perhaps this is how a few corals survived past CO 2 increases, such as the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum that occurred 56 Mya. |
author |
Mass, Tali Giuffre, Anthony J. Sun, Chang -Yu Stifler, Cayla A. Frazier, Matthew J. Neder, Maayan Tamura, Nobumichi Stan, Camelia V. Marcus, Matthew A. Gilbert, Pupa U. P. A. |
author_facet |
Mass, Tali Giuffre, Anthony J. Sun, Chang -Yu Stifler, Cayla A. Frazier, Matthew J. Neder, Maayan Tamura, Nobumichi Stan, Camelia V. Marcus, Matthew A. Gilbert, Pupa U. P. A. |
author_sort |
Mass, Tali |
title |
Amorphous calcium carbonate particles form coral skeletons |
title_short |
Amorphous calcium carbonate particles form coral skeletons |
title_full |
Amorphous calcium carbonate particles form coral skeletons |
title_fullStr |
Amorphous calcium carbonate particles form coral skeletons |
title_full_unstemmed |
Amorphous calcium carbonate particles form coral skeletons |
title_sort |
amorphous calcium carbonate particles form coral skeletons |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
http://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1408474 https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1408474 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1707890114 |
genre |
Ocean acidification |
genre_facet |
Ocean acidification |
op_relation |
http://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1408474 https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1408474 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1707890114 doi:10.1073/pnas.1707890114 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1707890114 |
container_title |
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |
container_volume |
114 |
container_issue |
37 |
_version_ |
1772818467221667840 |