Form and function of F-actin during biomineralization revealed from live experiments on foraminifera
2019
Although the emergence of complex
biomineralizedforms has been investigated for over a century, still little is known on how single cells control morphology of skeletal structures, such as
frustules, shells,
spicules, or scales. We have run experiments on the shell formation in
foraminifera, unicellular, mainly marine organisms that can build shells by successive additions of chambers. We used live imaging to discover that all stages of chamber/shell formation are controlled by dedicated actin-driven pseudopodial structures. Successive reorganization of an F-actin meshwork, associated with microtubular structures, is actively involved in formation of protective envelope, followed by dynamic scaffolding of chamber morphology. Then lamellar dynamic templates create a
confined spaceand control mineralization separated from seawater. These observations exclude extracellular calcification assumed in selected foraminiferal clades, and instead suggest a semiintracellular
biomineralizationpattern known from other unicellular calcifying and silicifying organisms. These results give a challenging prospect to decipher the vital effect on geochemical proxies applied to paleoceanographic reconstructions. They have further implications for understanding multiscale complexity of
biomineralizationand show a prospect for material science applications.
Keywords:
-
Correction
-
Source
-
Cite
-
Save
59
References
16
Citations
NaN
KQI