Viruses as new agents of organomineralization in the geological record

Pacton, Muriel; Wacey, David; Corinaldesi, Cinzia; Tangherlini, Michael; Kilburn, Matt R.; Gorin, Georges E.; Danovaro, Roberto; Vásconcelos, Crisógono

doi:10.1038/ncomms5298

Cited by 58 publications

(61 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…Aside from heritable biomineralization, the special inhabitant environment can also result in the spontaneous biomineralization of macromolecules or organisms, which is not regulated by intrinsic genes. [13] Recently, scientists have proved that viruses play a key role in the mineralization processes in nature. [10] The macromolecules can serve as efficient nuclei to initiate pathological calcifications in the disease lesions by absorbing soluble calcium or phosphorus ions under physiologic conditions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Therapeutic Potential of Biomineralization‐Based Engineering

Wang

Xiao

Hao

et al. 2018

Advanced Therapeutics

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In nature, the biomineralization processes of living organisms produce a wide range of organic-inorganic hybrid materials to achieve various functions. In particular, egg shells can provide extra protection for embryos and maintain air exchange. Inspired by such phenomena, it is assumed that the engineering of organisms with biomimetic materials can lead to significant improvement in organism function. This review summarizes recent progress in biomineralization-based techniques for organism engineering, and demonstrates the therapeutic potential enabled by these techniques. The design and synthesis approaches of biomineralization-based engineering are systemically introduced to guide the controlled modification of different organisms including viruses, bacteria, cells, and proteins using in situ biomineralization, bottom-up self-assembly, chemical and genetic engineering. Tailored organisms promise delivery, protection, cell therapy, vaccine improvement as well as therapeutic detection and imaging. The present review aims to propose a biomineralization-based strategy to promote functional evolution of these organisms, which promises to meet the increasing demand for new therapeutic purpose.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Therapeutic Potential of Biomineralization‐Based Engineering

Wang

Xiao

Hao

et al. 2018

Advanced Therapeutics

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“…When Ca 2+ access to intracellular space, the existence of capsid synthetized by viral DNA provides nucleation site for initial calcification (Fig 10). This heterogeneous calcification involves addition of material to the preexisting viral surface, which may similar to mineralized virus in microbial mat from hot spring (Peng et al, 2013) or hypersaline lakes (Pacton et al, 2014;De Wit et al, 2015;Perri et al, 2017). The pathway that viral induced calcification during the lysis of the 15 host cells retrieved by experimental study expands roles of viruses in marine carbonate precipitation.…”

Section: +mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…5 Preliminary investigations have also demonstrated that viruses from the hypersaline lake occur and are incorporated in biogenic carbonate, suggesting that virus may be mistaken for nanobacteria and play a role in initiating mineralization (De Wit et al, 2015;Pacton et al, 2014;Perri et al, 2017). The viral drive during the biogenic carbonate precipitation in hypersaline lakes is attributed to either an indirect route, involving silicified viruses as an intermediate phase during diagenesis (Pacton et al, 2014) or a direct incorporation of amino acids polymerized with viral proteins into growing high-Mg calcite crystals (De 10 Wit et al, 2015). The encrusted structure indicated by SEM images may support the heterogeneous nucleation of carbonate formation (Fig.…”

Section: +mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, viral particles could act as nucleation sites for different mineral precipitation. In the past few years, researchers have investigated that the capsid of viruses can interact directly with elements in solutions and thus potentially mediate the formation and precipitation of different minerals (Daughney et al, 2004;Kyle et al, 2008;Peng et al, 2013;Pacton et al, 2014;De Wit et al, 2015;Laidler and Stedman, 2010). It has been widely 5 studied that viruses can interact with iron minerals under both marine system (including experimental conditions) (Daughney et al, 2004;Bonnain et al, 2016) and in the natural low pH acid mine drainage environment (Kyle et al, 2008;Kyle and Ferris, 2013).…”

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confidence: 99%

“…The study of the hot spring biofilm by Peng et al (2013) proved that viruses can be preserved in the natural environment. Recent studies have shown that hypersaline carbonate minerals can precipitate at the surface of viral particles and have implication to the nano-sized calcium carbonate structures in various geological settings (Pacton et al, 2014;Lisle and Robbins, 2016;Perri et al, 2017). All of the above viral mineralization studies are focused on heterogeneous nucleation, which occurs at nucleation sites on surfaces and is assumed to be much more common than 15 homogeneous nucleation (Sear, 2014).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Precipitation of Calcium Carbonate Mineral Induced by Viral Lysis of Cyanobacteria

Xu¹,

Peng²,

Bai³

et al. 2018

Preprint

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Abstract. Viruses have been acknowledged as important components of the marine system for the past two decades, but the 10 understanding of their role in the functioning of the geochemical cycle remains poor. Viral induced rupturing of cyanobacteria are theoretically capable of releasing intracellular bicarbonate and inducing the homogeneous nucleation of calcium carbonate, but experimental-based support for viral induced calcification is lacking. In this laboratory study, both water carbonate chemistry and precipitates were monitored during the cyanophage infection and lysis of host cells. Our results show that viral lysis of cyanobacteria can influence the carbonate equilibrium system remarkably and promotes the nucleation and stabilization 15 of carbonate minerals. Amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) and aragonite were evident in the lysate compared to the brucite precipitate in non-infection cultures implying that a different precipitation process had occurred. Based on the carbonate chemistry change and microstructure of the precipitation, the viral induced calcification may initiate by rapid intracellular calcification because of the unfettered intracellular access of Ca 2+ and react with cytoplasmic alkalinity after the virus attacks and breaks down the cell wall. The experimental results raised here first demonstrate the pathway and result regarding how 20 viruses influence the mineralization of carbonate minerals. Furthermore, our results also imply that viruses play a crucial role in seawater carbonate chemistry and may balance the geochemical element budget within the earth system.

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Organomineralization processes in freshwater stromatolites: a living example from eastern Patagonia

Pacton

Hunger

Martinuzzi

et al. 2015

The Depositional Record

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Living stromatolites have been mostly described within shallow marine and (hyper)saline lacustrine environments. Southernmost South America lacks detailed investigations of these (organo)sedimentary buildups, particularly in regions experiencing extreme and variable environmental conditions. Here, we report and describe living freshwater stromatolites in the Maquinchao region, north-western Patagonia, Argentina. Fossil stromatolites characterized by globular and cauliflower shapes are also present in a continuous palaeoshoreline of a former lake at an altitude of 830 m, whereas their living counterparts only occur in the calm waters of sheltered or meandering sections of the Maquinchao River. The living stromatolites and their host waters have been sampled and studied using various chemical and microscopic techniques to better constrain the environmental versus biological factors controlling their development. Our results indicate that today stromatolites only proliferate in freshwater when Ca 2+ levels are high. A microscopic inspection of the living stromatolite mat indicates stronger photosynthetic activity in the upper green layer associated with crypto/ microcrystalline calcite (nanoglobules) compared to the lower beige-white biofilm. This biofilm contains more low-Mg calcite (rhombohedra) precipitates, which can form millimetre-sized aggregates in the underlying anoxic layer. Although sulphate-reducing bacteria are living in the entire mat, they appear more abundant and widely distributed in the lower beige-white layer and are always associated with Mg calcite. Low salinity and low-turbidity water along with microbial (photosynthetic and heterotrophic) activity are the most important factors promoting low-Mg calcite precipitation in the Maquinchao Basin. These conditions are very different from those proposed for recently described lacustrine stromatolites at high altitude in the subtropical and tropical Andes as well as in Chilean Patagonia. Hence, all these observations in modern freshwater stromatolites show the importance of geomicrobiological studies in identifying proxies of the hydrological conditions prevailing during their formation.

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Viruses as new agents of organomineralization in the geological record

Cited by 58 publications

References 39 publications

Therapeutic Potential of Biomineralization‐Based Engineering

Therapeutic Potential of Biomineralization‐Based Engineering

Precipitation of Calcium Carbonate Mineral Induced by Viral Lysis of Cyanobacteria

Organomineralization processes in freshwater stromatolites: a living example from eastern Patagonia

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