Biomineralization

Common card · No. 413445

Biomineralization, also written biomineralisation, is the process by which living organisms produce or retain inorganic minerals, often resulting in hardened or stiffened mineralized tissues. It is an extremely widespread phenomenon: all major lineages of the Earth's biosphere contain members that can form minerals, and over 60 different minerals have been identified in organisms. Examples include silicates in algae, diatoms and sponges, carbonates in invertebrates, and calcium phosphates and carbonates in vertebrates. These minerals often form structural features such as sea shells and the bone in mammals and birds. Organisms have been producing mineralized skeletons for the past 550 million years. Calcium carbonates and calcium phosphates are usually crystalline, but silica organisms (such as sponges and diatoms) are always non-crystalline minerals. Other examples include copper, iron, and gold deposits involving bacteria. Biologically formed minerals often have special uses such as magnetic...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Wilson44691, Public domain