Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Aleksei Rusakov, Maria Kuz'mina, Olga Frank-Kamenetskaya
Summary: The study examines the effect of biofilm medium chemistry on oxalate crystallization, especially the impact of organic acids and environmental ions on the weddellite/whewellite ratio and morphology. Citric acid was found to have a unique effect on promoting weddellite crystallization in the presence of micromicetes, resulting in significant changes in the crystallization ratio.
Article
Crystallography
Silvija Safranko, Sara Goman, Dominik Goman, Stela Jokic, Ida Delac Marion, Nives Matijakovic Mlinaric, Atida Selmani, Martina Medvidovic-Kosanovic, Anamarija Stankovic
Summary: This study focused on the preparation and structural characterization of calcium oxalate hydrates with the presence of gallic acid (GA). The results indicated that GA inhibited the formation of COM and promoted the formation of COD, while medium pH and the amount of added GA had a significant effect on COD formation. Electrochemical measurements were performed to investigate the interactions and possible adsorption between GA and formed crystals.
Article
Plant Sciences
Wenshi Hu, Manli Zhao, Shanshan Zhang, Yinshui Li, Jing Dai, Chiming Gu, Xiaoyong Li, Lu Yang, Lu Qin, Xing Liao
Summary: The coordinated increase in the photosynthetic rate and photosynthetic nitrogen use efficiency is crucial for improving crop yield and nitrogen utilization efficiency. By measuring the leaf functional nitrogen partitioning in Brassica napus genotypes under different nitrogen rates, it was found that optimizing nitrogen allocation by regulating nitrogen storage content can promote the synchronous increase in photosynthetic rate and photosynthetic nitrogen use efficiency.
PHYSIOLOGIA PLANTARUM
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Robert E. Paull, Dessiree Zerpa-Catanho, Nancy J. Chen, Gail Uruu, Ching Man Jennifer Wai, Michael Kantar
Summary: Calcium oxalate raphide crystals have been found to cause acridity in plants, and their formation involves a complex multistage process. Multiple peptides associated with the crystals have been identified, and actin appears to play a crucial role in their formation.
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Matthew Gleeson, Josephine Morizet, Pierre Mahou, Michel Daudon, Dominique Bazin, Chiara Stringari, Marie-Claire Schanne-Klein, Emmanuel Beaurepaire
Summary: In this study, a kidney stone component classification scheme based on multiphoton response was introduced. It allows fast and accurate differentiation of different stone compositions and provides detailed information about the stone tissues.
Review
Plant Sciences
Natasha S. Lawrie, Nekane Medrano Cuetos, Francesca Sini, Ghifary A. Salam, Hangyu Ding, Arthur Vancolen, Jessica M. Nelson, Roy H. J. Erkens, Giuditta Perversi
Summary: Calcium oxalate (CaOx) crystals are biominerals found in various plants. Their formation relies on oxalic acid and calcium ions, resulting in different crystal morphologies. Raphides are needle-like CaOx crystals with debated functions, potentially involving calcium storage, heavy metal sequestration, herbivory defense, and programmed cell death.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Santosh Kumar, Filipe Natalio, Rivka Elbaum
Summary: Plants, diatoms, and sponges exhibit diverse mechanisms of biomineralization, some occurring intra-cellularly and others extracellularly. The evolution of these mineralization mechanisms is mainly driven by organism complexity and precursor reactivity.
JOURNAL OF STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Zhuang Xiong, Zhigang Dun, Yucheng Wang, Desheng Yang, Dongliang Xiong, Kehui Cui, Shaobing Peng, Jianliang Huang
Summary: Stomatal morphology plays an important role in regulating leaf gas exchange and photosynthetic efficiency under fluctuating light conditions. Smaller and denser stomata lead to faster stomatal response to light fluctuations but lower intrinsic water use efficiency. Stomatal morphology has less impact on stomatal conductance, and there is minimal correlation between steady-state and non-steady-state stomatal conductance among different genotypes. These findings highlight the significance of stomatal morphology in optimizing photosynthetic efficiency and plant growth under fluctuating light.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Anatomy & Morphology
Ivan Takeshi Cerritos-Castro, Araceli Patron-Soberano, Esau Bojorquez-Velazquez, Jorge Luis Gonzalez-Escobar, Erandi Vargas-Ortiz, Emilio Munoz-Sandoval, Ana Paulina Barba de la Rosa
Summary: Calcium oxalate (CaOx) crystals in plants are formed in crystal idioblasts cells and have specific geometric shapes. Amaranth, a plant with high tolerance to abiotic stresses, accumulates significant amounts of CaOx crystals. This study characterized the CaOx crystals in amaranth leaves and identified proteins bound to them. The proteins were found to be related to chloroplasts and cell walls. The study provides new insights into the mechanisms of CaOx crystal formation and their potential function as a carbon source in leaves.
MICROSCOPY RESEARCH AND TECHNIQUE
(2022)
Review
Nutrition & Dietetics
Joseph J. Crivelli, Tanecia Mitchell, John Knight, Kyle D. Wood, Dean G. Assimos, Ross P. Holmes, Sonia Fargue
Summary: The prevalence of kidney stone disease is on the rise, with calcium oxalate being the most common stone composition. Dietary oxalate intake and endogenous production of oxalate play important roles in the pathophysiology of calcium oxalate stone disease, while oxalate-degrading bacteria in the gut microbiome may mitigate stone risk.
Review
Physiology
Hao Li, Yingjian Zhou, Wenchao Xu, Jihong Liu, Shaogang Wang, Hongyang Jiang
Summary: This systematic review discusses the role of autophagy in the pathogenesis of kidney stone and suggests that upregulation of autophagy may be a future research direction for kidney stone treatment.
FRONTIERS IN PHYSIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Zhuang Xiong, Dongliang Xiong, Detian Cai, Wei Wang, Kehui Cui, Shaobing Peng, Jianliang Huang
Summary: In this study, the leaf photosynthetic induction and underlying mechanism were compared between tetraploid and diploid rice for the first time. After polyploidization, tetraploid rice displayed slower stomatal opening in response to increasing light intensity. Stomatal opening, rather than biochemical processes, was found to be the most important factor contributing to the difference in photosynthetic induction between tetraploid and diploid rice. Tetraploid rice showed lower stomatal conductance and intercellular CO2 concentration, resulting in lower photosynthetic efficiency during light induction.
ENVIRONMENTAL AND EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Guoquan Zeng, Suyu Qiao, Xitong Wang, Mingping Sheng, Mingyang Wei, Qun Chen, Heng Xu, Fei Xu
Summary: The addition of 10 mM Ca2+ during the Microbially induced phosphate precipitation (MIPP) process significantly increased the removal ratio of Cd, potentially through the formation of a solid solution to remove the heavy metal cadmium.
JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Ying Yu, Xiguang Yang, Wenyi Fan
Summary: This study proposes a method that combines hyperspectral data with the Farquhar photosynthetic mechanistic model to estimate the maximum carboxylation rate (V-cmax) of leaves. By calculating the photochemical reflectance index (PRI) and constructing a model for sunlit leaf light-use efficiency (LUE), the sunlit leaf LUE can be estimated. The sunlit leaf LUE and absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (APAR) are then used to estimate the gross primary production (GPP) of the sunlit leaf, and Vcmax is deduced based on the Farquhar mechanistic model. The method can efficiently generate regional Vcmax distribution maps.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON GEOSCIENCE AND REMOTE SENSING
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Tilman A. Grunewald, Stefano Checchia, Hamadou Dicko, Gilles Le Moullac, Manaarii Sham Koua, Jeremie Vidal-Dupiol, Julien Duboisset, Julius Nouet, Olivier Grauby, Marco Di Michiel, Virginie Chamard
Summary: This study utilizes nanobeam X-ray total scattering and reverse Monte Carlo modeling to spatially resolve the amorphous calcium carbonate compounds in mollusc shells. Three distinct amorphous compounds were discovered, and the presence of magnesium in the shell and its role in the amorphous-to-crystal transition were demonstrated. The findings contribute to the understanding of biomineralization and provide insights for bioinspired synthetic strategies.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Gerald Langer, Alison R. Taylor, Charlotte E. Walker, Erin M. Meyer, Oz Ben Joseph, Assaf Gal, Glenn M. Harper, Ian Probert, Colin Brownlee, Glen L. Wheeler
Summary: The development of coccolithophores' calcification had a significant impact on ocean carbon cycling. Holococcoliths and heterococcoliths are formed in different life cycle stages but share similar characteristics. Holococcoliths represent an ancestral form of calcification in coccolithophores.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Leilah Krounbi, Konrad Hedderick, Zohar Eyal, Lior Aram, Eyal Shimoni, Lara A. Estroff, Assaf Gal
Summary: Many organisms can control the precipitation of minerals using soluble ions at ambient conditions, with a multistep route being a common strategy. Marine microalgae produce coccoliths as a model system for controlled biomineralization, forming calcium carbonate crystalline arrays at low calcium concentrations.
CHEMISTRY OF MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Boaz Mayzel, Lior Aram, Neta Varsano, Sharon G. Wolf, Assaf Gal
Summary: The authors studied the formation of silicified extensions in diatoms and found that these structures form outside the cytoplasm, contrary to the prevailing paradigm. Additionally, they discovered that the formation of these silica extensions is halted at low silicon concentrations, indicating a different silicification mechanism than other cell wall elements. The identification of this unconventional strategy expands the suite of mechanisms that diatoms use for silicification.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Hang Zhai, Tatyana Bendikov, Assaf Gal
Summary: The formation of intricate biosilica nanostructures in simple organisms is far superior to current synthetic manufacturing. A biomimetic polycation-polyanion system was used to study polymer-induced silicification. It was found that the polymer phase separation process, rather than silica-polymer interactions, controls silica precipitation. Ionic strength can be used to tune the morphology and structure of the precipitates. The results highlight the importance of hydrated polymer condensates in this process and pave the way for developing nanoscale bioinspired silica morphologies based on liquid-liquid phase separation chemistry.
ANGEWANDTE CHEMIE-INTERNATIONAL EDITION
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Emanuel M. Avrahami, Lothar Houben, Lior Aram, Assaf Gal
Summary: This study reveals that complex crystalline morphologies can be achieved by manipulating the growth rate. Using electron tomography, the researchers examined the development of coccolith crystals in three dimensions and found that the crystals express only one set of symmetry-related crystallographic facets, with the positioning of the crystals along specific edges contributing to morphological chirality.
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Zohar Eyal, Leilah Krounbi, Oz Ben Joseph, Emanuel M. Avrahami, Iddo Pinkas, Hadas Peled-Zehavi, Assaf Gal
Summary: Biomineralization processes exhibit varying levels of control over crystallization. Coccoliths, calcified scales formed by unicellular algae, are a model for highly controlled crystallization. This study explores the relationship between base plate and coccolith properties and reveals that the combination of base plate and the chemical environment inside the cell plays a pivotal role in the exquisite control over the crystallization process.
ACTA BIOMATERIALIA
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Nigel Belshaw, Irina Grouneva, Lior Aram, Assaf Gal, Amanda Hopes, Thomas Mock
Summary: CRISPR/Cas technology enables efficient gene targeting by homologous recombination in the diploid photosynthetic organism Thalassiosira pseudonana. Knockout of nitrate reductase and urease genes affected growth on nitrate and urea, respectively, while knockout of the silacidin gene led to a significant increase in cell size.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Yeseul Park, Zohar Eyal, Peter Pekker, Daniel M. Chevrier, Christopher T. Lefevre, Pascal Arnoux, Jean Armengaud, Caroline L. Monteil, Assaf Gal, Mihaly Posfai, Damien Faivre
Summary: This study reports the periplasmic biomineralization of copper sulfide nanoparticles produced by the magnetotactic bacterium Desulfamplus magnetovallimortis strain BW-1. It reveals previously unknown possibilities for intracellular biomineralization and holds promise for biological metal recovery.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Diede de Haan, Lior Aram, Hadas Peled-Zehavi, Yoseph Addadi, Oz Ben-Joseph, Ron Rotkopf, Nadav Elad, Katya Rechav, Assaf Gal
Summary: In this study, the authors investigate the exocytosis mechanism in diatoms, unicellular algae with silica cell walls. They find that during exocytosis, the silica deposition vesicle membrane and plasma membrane gradually detach from the mineral without recycling, indicating an extraordinary mechanism for maintaining membrane homeostasis. These results provide structural observations of diatom silica exocytosis and reveal the role of membrane patches in maintaining cellular membrane stability.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Biomaterials
Hang Zhai, Yuke Fan, Wenjun Zhang, Neta Varsano, Assaf Gal
Summary: Multistep mineralization processes are crucial for the fabrication of functional materials, often characterized by non-equilibrium conditions and high supersaturation. Surprisingly, these 'nonclassical' mineralization pathways are widely found in biological systems despite their incompatibility with cellular homeostasis. This study demonstrates how polymer phase separation can passively concentrate inorganic building blocks within a dense phase, leading to the formation of bioinspired silica. By manipulating the chemistry of the dense phase, the interplay between polymer chemistry and silica precipitation can be controlled, providing a framework for better mineral formation control.
ACS BIOMATERIALS SCIENCE & ENGINEERING
(2023)
Article
Optics
Tali Lemcoff, Lotem Alus, Johannes S. Haataja, Avital Wagner, Gan Zhang, Mariela J. Pavan, Venkata Jayasurya Yallapragada, Silvia Vignolini, Dan Oron, Lukas Schertel, Benjamin A. Palmer
Summary: This study reveals that the extreme birefringence of isoxanthopterin nanospheres can overcome optical crowding effects, allowing ultra-thin chromatophore cells in shrimp to achieve multiple scattering and brilliant whiteness. Numerical simulations show that the spherulitic arrangement of isoxanthopterin molecules, which results in birefringence, enables intense broadband scattering almost up to the maximal packing for random spheres. This reduces the thickness of material required to produce brilliant whiteness, making it more efficient than other biogenic or biomimetic white materials.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Pallavi Singh, Yahel Soffer, Davide Raffaele Ceratti, Michael Elbaum, Dan Oron, Gary Hodes, David Cahen
Summary: In terms of sustainable use, halide perovskite (HaP) semiconductors have a strong advantage over most other classes of materials for (opto)electronics, as they can self-heal (SH) from photodamage. This study uses fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) measurements to investigate self-healing in polycrystalline thin films of different perovskite compositions and identifies the influence of the A-site cation on self-healing kinetics and photodamage threshold. The results are crucial for developing absorber materials that can recover from photodamage-induced efficiency losses and enable sustainable electronics.
ACS ENERGY LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Oz Ben-Joseph, Diede de Haan, Katya Rechav, Eyal Shimoni, Smadar Levin-Zaidman, Gerald Langer, Ian Probert, Glen L. Wheeler, Assaf Gal
Summary: Coccolithophores produce calcium carbonate crystals that shape global geochemical cycles. Different life-cycle phases of the same species produce coccoliths with different morphologies. The crystallization process in haploid cells, which is rarely studied, was examined using advanced electron microscopy. The findings suggest that the cellular architecture and confinement of the crystallization process determine the morphologies of the crystals.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Emanuel M. Avrahami, Zohar Eyal, Neta Varsano, Ievgeniia Zagoriy, Julia Mahamid, Assaf Gal
Summary: This study investigates the growth process of coccolith crystals using advanced electron microscopy techniques. It reveals that the crystals grow alternately between space filling and skeletonized growth modes, with the final morphology influenced by growth arrest. The findings shed light on the delicate regulation of coccolith crystal morphology.
ADVANCED MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Biomaterials
Hadas Peled-Zehavi, Assaf Gal
Summary: Some microorganisms, like coccolithophores, produce intricate exoskeletons made of inorganic solids. Recent studies have shown that intracellular compartments store high concentrations of calcium and phosphorous, suggesting a dominant role in mineralization. Fluorescent labeling experiments reveal a variety of organelles with distinct signatures, but surprisingly no changes in ion pools were observed during the calcification process. This suggests that the mechanism behind coccolithophores' ability to sustain intracellular calcification remains elusive.