Cited by 264Calcium Carbonate Crystallization and InhibitionPaleontology and Stratigraphy of FossilsMicrobial Applications in Construction Materials

An early-branching microbialite cyanobacterium forms intracellular carbonates

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Couradeau, Estelle, Benzerara, Karim, Gérard, Emmanuelle, Moreira, David, Bernard, Sylvain, Brown, Gordon E., López-García, Purificación·2012·Science

Abstract

Cyanobacteria have affected major geochemical cycles (carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen) on Earth for billions of years. In particular, they have played a major role in the formation of calcium carbonates (i.e., calcification), which has been considered to be an extracellular process. We identified a cyanobacterium in modern microbialites in Lake Alchichica (Mexico) that forms intracellular amorphous calcium-magnesium-strontium-barium carbonate inclusions about 270 nanometers in average diameter, revealing an unexplored pathway for calcification. Phylogenetic analyses place this cyanobacterium within the deeply divergent order Gloeobacterales. The chemical composition and structure of the intracellular precipitates suggest some level of cellular control on the biomineralization process. This discovery expands the diversity of organisms capable of forming amorphous calcium carbonates.

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Crossref · 10.1126/science.1216171

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  • An alternative precipitation mechanism involves intracellular precipitation of amorphous carbonates, as demonstrated by a recently discovered cyanobacterial species of the order Gloeobacterales.

    “An alternative precipitation mechanism involves intracellular precipitation of amorphous carbonates, as demonstrated by a recently discovered cyanobacterial species of the order Gloeobacterales [118].”

    From Strategizing carbon-neutral mines: A case for pilot projects (2014) · cites this paper as [118]

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Authors
Couradeau, E., Benzerara, K., Gérard, E., Moreira, D., Bernard, S., Brown, G. E., & López-García, P.
Affiliations
  • Université Paris-Sud (FR)
  • Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
  • SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (US)
  • Unité d’Ecologie, Systématique et Evolution, CNRS UMR 8079, Université Paris-Sud, 91405 Orsay Cedex, France.
Corresponding author
Benzerara, Karim
Venue
Science
Published
2012-04-27
Volume
336
Issue
6080
Pages
459-462
ISSN
  • 0036-8075 (ISSN-L)
  • 1095-9203
OpenAlex
W2024981338
Cited by
263
References
36
Citations by year
2026: 10 · 2025: 21 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 20 · 2022: 32 · 2021: 18 · 2020: 19 · 2019: 18 · 2018: 21 · 2017: 21 · 2016: 20 · 2015: 15 · 2014: 16 · 2013: 14 · 2012: 9
FWCI
7.00
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by-nc
Locations
  • Science (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • HAL (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Materials Science › Biomaterials › Calcium Carbonate Crystallization and Inhibition
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Paleontology and Stratigraphy of Fossils
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Engineering › Microbial Applications in Construction Materials
Keywords
intracellular calcification, microbialites, cyanobacteria, amorphous calcium carbonate, biomineralization, Lake Alchichica
MeSH terms
Cyanobacteria, Barium, Base Sequence, Calcification, Physiologic, Calcium, Calcium Carbonate, Carbonates, Inclusion Bodies, Genes, Bacterial, Magnesium, Mexico, Molecular Sequence Data, Phylogeny, Chemical Precipitation, Strontium, Biofilms, Genes, rRNA, Lakes

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