Biomineralization articles within Nature Communications

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  • Article
    | Open Access

    While clusters in calcium orthophosphate nucleation have long been known, their speciation and mechanistic pathways to hydroxyapatite remain debated. Here the authors report a revision of ion association in the calcium phosphate system and explore the consequences thereof on the early stages of phase separation.

    • David P. McDonogh
    • , Julian D. Gale
    •  & Denis Gebauer

  • Article
    | Open Access

    A new carbonate phase calcium carbonate hemihydrate was recently discovered and characterized, but exclusively as a synthetic material. Here the authors find that it exists in nature, albeit transiently, on the surface of growing nacre and coral skeletons, and show that 2 amorphous and 2 metastable crystalline nano-minerals form before biominerals settle into their stable crystals.

    • Connor A. Schmidt
    • , Eric Tambutté
    •  & Pupa U.P.A. Gilbert

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Sponges, being early-diverging metazoans and the only animals to develop extensive skeletons of silica, have potential to inform about the evolutionary steps of metazoan traits, including biomineralization. Here, the authors characterize two proteins associated with the hexactinellid sponge silica.

    • Katsuhiko Shimizu
    • , Michika Nishi
    •  & Manuel Maldonado

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The inorganic minerals are believed to exert a critical catalytic role in the prebiotic time, but biominerals (e.g., bones) in modern living organisms are known mainly for their physical property-related functions. Here the authors identify natural ferritin iron core as a superoxide dismutase-like nanozyme exhibiting species-related activity and elucidate its specific catalytic mechanism.

    • Long Ma
    • , Jia-Jia Zheng
    •  & Kelong Fan

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The mechanism of calcium carbonate formation has been of interest for decades, but additive-controlled systems are poorly understood. Here the authors show that polycarboxylates facilitate bicarbonate entrapment and thereby inhibit nucleation. Distinct water environments in amorphous calcium carbonate nanoparticles arise from colloidal formation pathways and lead to mineral conductivity.

    • Maxim B. Gindele
    • , Sanjay Vinod-Kumar
    •  & Guinevere Mathies

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Most proteins mediating biomineralization in nature are not well structured, and the structures of the relevant protein-mineral interfaces regulating mineralization are elusive. Here, the authors computationally design proteins that modulate calcium carbonate mineralization to generate hybrid materials and elucidate the roles of designed proteins in controlling mineralization.

    • Fatima A. Davila-Hernandez
    • , Biao Jin
    •  & David Baker

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The structure of vaterite has been debated for a century. Combining systematic TEM characterisations, crystallographic analysis, and machine learning aided molecular dynamics simulations, the authors unlock the structural mystery in vaterite.

    • Xingyuan San
    • , Junwei Hu
    •  & Xiaobing Hu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Biominerals contain trace elements that can give important environmental information, but the mechanism by which these are incorporated into the structure is not well understood. Here, the authors explore the crystallization pathways involved in the formation of nacre, and how these affect the incorporation of trace elements.

    • L. M. Otter
    • , K. Eder
    •  & D. E. Jacob

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Modifiers of diverse materials exhibit structures or compositions that differ from a solute molecule but often contain similar functional motifs that facilitate molecular recognition for modifier binding to crystal surfaces. Here the authors examine the intrinsic capability of tautomers, or structural isomers, to operate as crystal growth inhibitors.’

    • Weiwei Tang
    • , Taimin Yang
    •  & Jeffrey D. Rimer

  • Article
    | Open Access

    X-rays are used for imaging and sterilisation of bone but cause damage due to ionising radiation. Here, the authors study the degradation of collagen caused by photon-electron excitations and show that damage is initiated from onset which has implications for X-ray imaging and the levels of safe exposure.

    • Katrein Sauer
    • , Ivo Zizak
    •  & Paul Zaslansky

  • Article
    | Open Access

    How confinement affects the growth of crystals is poorly understood. Experiments in which NaClO3 and CaCO3 crystals are grown close to a glass substrate now show that new molecular layers can form via the transport of mass through the liquid film at the crystal-substrate interface.

    • Felix Kohler
    • , Olivier Pierre-Louis
    •  & Dag Kristian Dysthe

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The highest tensile strength biomaterial known exists in limpet teeth and replicating this material is of interest. Here, the authors report on the ex vivo growth of teeth and use of isolated limpet tissue and cells providing foundations for the development of this high-tensile biomaterial.

    • Robin M. H. Rumney
    • , Samuel C. Robson
    •  & Dariusz C. Górecki

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Phosphate involvement in calcium carbonate biominerals raises questions on biomineralisation pathways. Here, the authors explore the presence of phosphate in the growing shell of the European abalone and suggest a shared mixed mineral ancestral precursor with final crystal phase being selected by mineral-associated proteins.

    • Widad Ajili
    • , Camila B. Tovani
    •  & Nadine Nassif

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Despite the advances in engineered living materials (ELMs), the diversity of ELMs especially those that are capable of autonomous self-fabrication and regeneration, is low. Here, the authors engineer a resilient ELM biocomposite using Bacillus subtilis and secreted EutM proteins as selfassembling scaffold building blocks.

    • Sun-Young Kang
    • , Anaya Pokhrel
    •  & Claudia Schmidt-Dannert

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Bioinspired materials require an understanding of how biomaterials achieve the materials properties. Here, the authors report on the load-bearing shell of Discinisca tenuis and explore how hydration changes the dry shell from hard and stiff to soft and flexible within minutes by reorganisation caused by organic matrix swelling.

    • Johannes Ihli
    • , Anna S. Schenk
    •  & Fabio Nudelman

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Silica formation in diatoms is of interest for a range of different subjects from biomimetics to oceanography. Here the authors study the formation of silicified extensions in diatoms and find that unlike cell wall elements, that form in the cytoplasm, the extensions have a different formation mechanism outside the cytoplasm.

    • Boaz Mayzel
    • , Lior Aram
    •  & Assaf Gal

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Stabilizing lipid nanoparticles and lipidprotein assemblies is challenging owing to lipid dynamics and protein instability. Here, the authors report on the reversible encapsulation of liposomes and proteoliposomes in a metalorganic framework permitting months-long room temp storage.

    • Fabian C. Herbert
    • , Sameera S. Abeyrathna
    •  & Jeremiah J. Gassensmith

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Biomineral armour is known in a number of diverse creatures but has not previously been observed in insects. Here, the authors report on the discovery and characterization of high-magnesium calcite armour which overlays the exoskeletons of leaf-cutter ants.

    • Hongjie Li
    • , Chang-Yu Sun
    •  & Cameron R. Currie

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Shark teeth have short lifespans yet can be subject to significant mechanical damage. Here, the authors report on a site-specific damage mechanism in shark teeth enameloid, which maintains tooth functional shape, providing experimental evidence that tooth architecture may have influenced the diversification of shark ecologies over evolution.

    • Shahrouz Amini
    • , Hajar Razi
    •  & Peter Fratzl

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Mineralized collagen is the building block of bone but how the collagen directs hydroxyapatite formation remains unclear. Here, the authors demonstrate cylindrical pores in collagen and how the anisotropic growth of hydroxyapatite directs the orientation of crystal growth in mineralized collagen.

    • YiFei Xu
    • , Fabio Nudelman
    •  & Nico Sommerdijk

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Understanding the crystal structure of different calcium phosphates is important for a range of different subjects from geology to biomedicine. Here, the authors report on the synthesis and determination of the crystal structure of dicalcium phosphate monohydrate.

    • Bing-Qiang Lu
    • , Tom Willhammar
    •  & Denis Gebauer

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Calcium carbonate biomineralisation has long been linked to acidic macromolecules. Here, the authors challenge this view and show that a huge number of gold nanoparticles coated with hydroxyl-rich proteins can be incorporated into a calcium carbonate crystal while maintaining single crystal character.

    • Yi-Yeoun Kim
    • , Robert Darkins
    •  & Fiona C. Meldrum

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Hierarchical structural materials combine organic and inorganic components to withstand mechanical impact but the nanomechanics that govern the superior properties are not well investigated. Here, the authors observe nanoscale recovery of heavily deformed nacre that restores its mechanical strength using high-resolution electron microscopy.

    • Jiseok Gim
    • , Noah Schnitzer
    •  & Robert Hovden

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Several fields are interested in the mechanism by which organisms control crystallisation at ambient temperatures. Here, the authors evaluate the mechanism of magnesium rich nanoprecipitate layer formation in the calcite crystals of the brittle star, via the decomposition of the amorphous precursor.

    • Eva Seknazi
    • , Stas Kozachkevich
    •  & Boaz Pokroy

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The capability to engineer magnon states in confined geometries is vital to future nano-magnonics. Here the authors demonstrate that the topology of the magnon bands is determined by the local arrangement and orientation of nanoparticles and can be controlled by the genotype of magnetotactic bacteria.

    • Benjamin W. Zingsem
    • , Thomas Feggeler
    •  & Michael Winklhofer

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Bone tissue is a complex organic-inorganic nanocomposite and strategies that replicate the characteristics of bone tissue are scarce. Here the authors demonstrate the deposition of nanoscale apatite in collagen embedded with mesenchymal, vascular and nerve cells, using a protein-guided biomineralization approach.

    • Greeshma Thrivikraman
    • , Avathamsa Athirasala
    •  & Luiz E. Bertassoni

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Induction of complex homochiral architectures by chiral transformation in a mixed enantiomer system has remained largely elusive. Here, the authors report a chirality dominance effect which induces homochiral suprastructures of calcium carbonate by a mixed, heterochiral nonracemic amino acid enantiomer system.

    • Wenge Jiang
    • , Dimitra Athanasiadou
    •  & Marc D. McKee

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The growth of apatite crystals from amorphous calcium phosphate is an area of intense study. Here, the authors report on the use of high resolution TEM imaging to provide evidence of nucleation clusters in the transformation process

    • Antiope Lotsari
    • , Anand K. Rajasekharan
    •  & Martin Andersson

  • Article
    | Open Access

    There is much debate within the field about the complex processes involved in the formation of precursors and mineral crystals. Here, the authors report on a study into the structures formed in the polymer-induced liquid precursor of CaCO3 and suggest a new interpretation of the process.

    • Yifei Xu
    • , Koen C. H. Tijssen
    •  & Nico A. J. M. Sommerdijk

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Peptoids are promising crystallization agents, as they offer the molecular recognition capabilities of proteins and peptides but with higher stability and synthetic tunability. Here, the authors show that sequence-defined peptoids can controllably template the formation and shape evolution of gold nanostructures with defined morphologies.

    • Feng Yan
    • , Lili Liu
    •  & Chun-Long Chen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Artificial compartments have been expressed in prokaryotes and yeast, but similar capabilities have been missing for mammalian cell engineering. Here the authors use bacterial encapsulins to engineer genetically controlled multifunctional orthogonal compartments in mammalian cells.

    • Felix Sigmund
    • , Christoph Massner
    •  & Gil G. Westmeyer

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Liquid crystals comprising inorganic species are far less common than their organic-based counterparts. Here, the authors report a magneto-optically responsive liquid crystal based on nanorods of the biomineral hydroxyapatite, representing a new type of biologically-based, dynamic inorganic material.

    • Masanari Nakayama
    • , Satoshi Kajiyama
    •  & Takashi Kato

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The exterior layers of mollusk shells are prismatic in nature, endowing them with stiffness and wear resistance. Inspired by these biominerals, here, Jiang and colleagues grow structurally similar prismatic-type CaCO3 thin films with comparable stiffness and hardness.

    • Chuanlian Xiao
    • , Ming Li
    •  & Helmut Cölfen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The formation mechanism of abundant calcium oxalate biomaterials is unresolved. Here the authors show the early stages of calcium oxalate formation in pure and citrate-bearing solutions by using a titration set-up in conjunction with solution quenching, transmission electron microscopy and analytical ultracentrifugation.

    • Encarnación Ruiz-Agudo
    • , Alejandro Burgos-Cara
    •  & Carlos Rodriguez-Navarro

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Salt weathering enhanced by global warming and environmental pollution is increasingly threatening stone monuments and artworks. Here, the authors present a bacterial self-inoculation approach with indigenous carbonatogenic bacteria and find that this technique consolidates and protects salt damaged stone.

    • Fadwa Jroundi
    • , Mara Schiro
    •  & Carlos Rodriguez-Navarro

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Lanthanide elements are difficult to separate from aqueous solution with low energy input. Here, the authors design a peptide that recognizes and drives the precipitation of an insoluble lanthanide complex under physiological conditions, introducing a biomineralization-based approach for rare earth recovery.

    • Takaaki Hatanaka
    • , Akimasa Matsugami
    •  & Nobuhiro Ishida

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Introducing organic guests to a crystal is a convenient way to tailor its properties. Here, the authors occlude fluorescent dyes within calcite to reveal that additives can occupy distinct zones of a crystal, and strategically embed green, blue, and red dyes to create white fluorescent calcite.

    • David C. Green
    • , Johannes Ihli
    •  & Fiona C. Meldrum

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Mollusks have evolved an exquisite diversity of complex mineralized shells for protection. One such example, the blue-rayed limpet, incorporates a vivid display of blue lines, which originate from the interference of light in a nano-periodic photonic architecture buried within the animal's translucent shell.

    • Ling Li
    • , Stefan Kolle
    •  & Mathias Kolle

  • Article |

    The raptorial appendages of stomatopods are known to inflict large impact forces at high speeds, while exhibiting large damage tolerance. Here, the authors study the structure, distribution and nanomechanical properties of mineral phases in stomatopod's clubs, finding that calcium sulphate is co-localized with crystalline fluorapatite.

    • Shahrouz Amini
    • , Admir Masic
    •  & Ali Miserez

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The crystallization of amorphous calcium carbonate is a widely studied process. Here, the authors probe the mechanism and show that transformation to calcite is preceded by dehydration, even in solution, and that loss of the final water fraction triggers crystallization.

    • Johannes Ihli
    • , Wai Ching Wong
    •  & Fiona C. Meldrum

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