Minerals 2012, 2(1), 11-39; doi:10.3390/min2010011
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Layered Growth and Crystallization in Calcareous Biominerals: Impact of Structural and Chemical Evidence on Two Major Concepts in Invertebrate Biomineralization Studies

Jean-Pierre Cuif 1,* email, Yannicke Dauphin 1 email, Gernot Nehrke 2 email, Julius Nouet 1 email and Alberto Perez-Huerta 3 email
1 Geological laboratory IDES, Bat. 504, Faculty of Science, 91405 ORSAY, France 2 Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Am Handelshafen 12, Bremerhaven 27570, Germany 3 Department of Geological Sciences, The University of Alabama, 2018 Bevill Building, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487, USA
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 16 January 2012; in revised form: 2 February 2012 / Accepted: 13 February 2012 / Published: 27 February 2012
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Biominerals)
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Abstract: In several recent models of invertebrate skeletogenesis, Ca-carbonate crystallization occurs within a liquid-filled chamber. No explanation is given neither for the simultaneous occurrence of distinct polymorphs of Ca-carbonate within these liquid volumes, nor for the spatial arrangement of the mineral units which are always organized in species-specific structural sequences. Results of a series of physical characterizations applied to reference skeletal materials reveal the inadequacy of this liquid-filled chamber model to account for structural and chemical properties of the shell building units. Simultaneously, these data provide convergent pieces of evidence for a specific mode of crystallization developed throughout various invertebrate phyla, supporting the hypothesized “common strategy” based on a multi-scaled control exerted on formation of their calcareous hard parts.
Keywords: biocrystallization; layered growth-mode; reticulate pattern

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MDPI and ACS Style

Cuif, J.-P.; Dauphin, Y.; Nehrke, G.; Nouet, J.; Perez-Huerta, A. Layered Growth and Crystallization in Calcareous Biominerals: Impact of Structural and Chemical Evidence on Two Major Concepts in Invertebrate Biomineralization Studies. Minerals 2012, 2, 11-39.

AMA Style

Cuif J-P, Dauphin Y, Nehrke G, Nouet J, Perez-Huerta A. Layered Growth and Crystallization in Calcareous Biominerals: Impact of Structural and Chemical Evidence on Two Major Concepts in Invertebrate Biomineralization Studies. Minerals. 2012; 2(1):11-39.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Cuif, Jean-Pierre; Dauphin, Yannicke; Nehrke, Gernot; Nouet, Julius; Perez-Huerta, Alberto. 2012. "Layered Growth and Crystallization in Calcareous Biominerals: Impact of Structural and Chemical Evidence on Two Major Concepts in Invertebrate Biomineralization Studies." Minerals 2, no. 1: 11-39.

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