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BIOMINERALIZATION OF THE STALKS OF ANTHOPHYSA VEGETANS (CHRYSOPHYCEAE) 1
Author(s) -
Lee Robert Edward,
Kugrens Paul
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
journal of phycology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.85
H-Index - 127
eISSN - 1529-8817
pISSN - 0022-3646
DOI - 10.1111/j.1529-8817.1989.tb00265.x
Subject(s) - mineralization (soil science) , biomineralization , manganese , calcium , microanalysis , phosphate , composition (language) , biology , mineralogy , botany , orange (colour) , scanning electron microscope , nuclear chemistry , chemical composition , biophysics , chemistry , materials science , food science , biochemistry , metallurgy , ecology , organic chemistry , paleontology , linguistics , philosophy , soil water , composite material
Mineralized stalks of the chryophyte Anthophysa ve‐getans (O. F. Müller) Stein were examined by electron microscopy, and the composition of the stalks was determined by energy dispersive x‐ray microanalysis. Colonies grown in water from a local lake (Dowdy Lake) had mineralized stalks that were colorless and composed mainly of spherules of calcium phosphate up to 0.7 μm in diameter. The addition of 0.1 mM MnCl 2 to the culture medium resulted in deeply orange‐brown stalks mineralized primarily with minute granules of a manganese compound. The addition of 0.1 mM FeCl 3 to the culture media resulted in light yellow stalks mineralized mainly with small granules of an iron compound. The addition of 0.1 mM MgCl 2 or KCl resulted in stalks that were similar in appearance and composition to the colonies grown in culture medium alone. These results show that the composition of the mineralized stalks of A. vegetans is dependent on the elements present in the culture medium. This is also the first time that calcium phosphate has been reported as a mineralization product in the chrysophytes.