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Crystal assembly and phylogenetic evolution in heterococcoliths

Nature volume 356, pages 516–518 (1992)Cite this article

Abstract

COCCOLITHS, the calcite plates formed by unicellular phyto-planktonic algae (coccolithophores, phylum Prymnesiophyta)1, are produced in enormous quantities and probably constitute the largest single carbonate sink in oceanic biogeochemical cycles. They are major sediment formers, are of great value to geologists as biostratigraphic indicators and have been extensively studied as models for biomineralization2,3. We have applied the understanding of coccolith biomineralization to the fossil record4 and present evidence from electron and optical microscopy that there has been a conserved mechanism of crystal nucleation throughout the 230 million year history of coccolithophores. This fundamental feature of coccolith growth, which we term the V/R model, involves the assembly of a ring of single crystals with alternating orientations, radial (R) and vertical (V), and provides a powerful tool for tracing phylogenies, identifying homologous structures and rationalizing the higher taxonomy of the group. The living cocco-lithophorid, Emiliania huxleyi, seemed anomalous because only R crystals had been observed; transmission electron microscopy of proto-coccolith rings, however, revealed relict V crystals which are overgrown by preferential development of R units in complete coccoliths. A speculative model based on a plicated macromolecular template is presented as a possible explanation for the conserved nucleation process.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Palaeontology Department, The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BD, UK

    Jeremy R. Young

  2. School of Chemistry, University of Bath, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK

    Jon M. Didymus & Stephen Mann

  3. Department of Geological Sciences, University College, London, WC1E 6BT, UK

    Paul R. Brown

  4. Shell International Petroleum, 2501 AN, The Hague, The Netherlands

    Ben Prins

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  1. Jeremy R. Young
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  2. Jon M. Didymus
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  4. Ben Prins
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  5. Stephen Mann
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Young, J., Didymus, J., Brown, P. et al. Crystal assembly and phylogenetic evolution in heterococcoliths. Nature 356, 516–518 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1038/356516a0

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