1
|
Kalka M, Bielak K, Ptak M, Stolarski J, Dobryszycki P, Wojtas M. Calcium carbonate polymorph selection in fish otoliths: A key role of phosphorylation of Starmaker-like protein. Acta Biomater 2024; 174:437-446. [PMID: 38061675 DOI: 10.1016/j.actbio.2023.11.039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2023] [Revised: 11/27/2023] [Accepted: 11/30/2023] [Indexed: 12/21/2023]
Abstract
Fish otoliths are calcium carbonate biominerals found in the inner ear commonly used for tracking fish biochronologies and as a model system for biomineralization. The process of fish otolith formation is biologically controlled by numerous biomacromolecules which not only affect crystal size, shape, mechanical properties, but also selection of calcium carbonate polymorph (e.g., aragonite, vaterite). The proteinaceous control over calcium carbonate polymorph selection occurs in many other species (e.g., corals, mollusks, echinoderms) but the exact mechanism of protein interactions with calcium and carbonate ions - constituents of CaCO3 - are not fully elucidated. Herein, we focus on a native Starmaker-like protein isolated from vaterite asteriscus otoliths from Cyprinus carpio. The proteomic studies show the presence of the phosphorylated protein in vaterite otoliths. In a series of in vitro mineralization experiments with Starmaker-like, we show that native phosphorylation is a crucial determinant for the selection of a crystal's polymorphic form. This is the first report showing that the switch in calcium carbonate phase depends on the phosphorylation pattern of a single isolated protein. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: Calcium carbonate has numerous applications in industry and medicine. However, we still do not understand the mechanism of biologically driven polymorph selection which results in specific biomineral properties. Previous work on calcium carbonate biominerals showed that either several macromolecular factors or high magnesium concentration (non-physiological) are required for proper polymorph selection (e.g., in mollusk shells, corals and otoliths). In this work, we showed for the first time that protein phosphorylation is a crucial factor for controlling the calcium carbonate crystal phase. This is important because a single protein from the otolith organic matrix could switch between polymorphs depending on the phosphorylation level. It seems that protein post-translational modifications (native, not artificial) are more important for biomolecular control of crystal growth than previously considered.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Marta Kalka
- Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Faculty of Chemistry, Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Wrocław, Poland
| | - Klaudia Bielak
- Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Faculty of Chemistry, Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Wrocław, Poland
| | - Maciej Ptak
- Division of Optical Spectroscopy, Institute of Low Temperature and Structure Research, Polish Academy of Sciences, Wrocław, Poland
| | | | - Piotr Dobryszycki
- Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Faculty of Chemistry, Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Wrocław, Poland
| | - Magdalena Wojtas
- Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Faculty of Chemistry, Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Wrocław, Poland.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Milita S, Zaquin T, Fermani S, Montroni D, Pinkas I, Barba L, Falini G, Mass T. Assembly of the Intraskeletal Coral Organic Matrix during Calcium Carbonate Formation. CRYSTAL GROWTH & DESIGN 2023; 23:5801-5811. [PMID: 37547884 PMCID: PMC10401569 DOI: 10.1021/acs.cgd.3c00401] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2023] [Revised: 07/01/2023] [Indexed: 08/08/2023]
Abstract
Scleractinia coral skeleton formation occurs by a heterogeneous process of nucleation and growth of aragonite in which intraskeletal soluble organic matrix molecules, usually referred to as SOM, play a key role. Several studies have demonstrated that they influence the shape and polymorphic precipitation of calcium carbonate. However, the structural aspects that occur during the growth of aragonite have received less attention. In this research, we study the deposition of calcium carbonate on a model substrate, silicon, in the presence of SOM extracted from the skeleton of two coral species representative of different living habitats and colonization strategies, which we previously characterized. The study is performed mainly by grazing incidence X-ray diffraction with the support of Raman spectroscopy and electron and optical microscopies. The results show that SOM macromolecules once adsorbed on the substrate self-assembled in a layered structure and induced the oriented growth of calcite, inhibiting the formation of vaterite. Differently, when SOM macromolecules were dispersed in solution, they induced the deposition of amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC), still preserving a layered structure. The entity of these effects was species-dependent, in agreement with previous studies. In conclusion, we observed that in the setup required by the experimental procedure, the SOM from corals appears to present a 2D lamellar structure. This structure is preserved when the SOM interacts with ACC but is lost when the interaction occurs with calcite. This knowledge not only is completely new for coral biomineralization but also has strong relevance in the study of biomineralization on other organisms.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Silvia Milita
- CNR—Institute
for Microelectronic and Microsystems, via Gobetti 101, Bologna 40129, Italy
| | - Tal Zaquin
- Department
of Marine Biology, The Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences, University of Haifa, Mt. Carmel, Haifa 3498838, Israel
| | - Simona Fermani
- Department
of Chemistry “Giacomo Ciamician”, University of Bologna, via Selmi 2, Bologna 40126, Italy
- Interdepartmental
Centre for Industrial Research Health Sciences & Technologie, University of Bologna, Bologna 40064, Italy
| | - Devis Montroni
- Department
of Chemistry “Giacomo Ciamician”, University of Bologna, via Selmi 2, Bologna 40126, Italy
| | - Iddo Pinkas
- Department
of Chemical Research Support, Weizmann Institute
of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel
| | - Luisa Barba
- CNR
-Institute
of Crystallography, Elettra Synchrotron, Trieste I-34100, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Falini
- Department
of Chemistry “Giacomo Ciamician”, University of Bologna, via Selmi 2, Bologna 40126, Italy
- CNR,
Institute for Nanostructured
Materials, via Gobetti
101, Bologna 40129, Italy
| | - Tali Mass
- Department
of Marine Biology, The Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences, University of Haifa, Mt. Carmel, Haifa 3498838, Israel
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Song T, Wu X, Xu J, Ye H, Shi W. Two-Level Optical Birefringence Created by Evaporation-Induced Polymer Crystallization in Sessile Droplets. Macromolecules 2023. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.2c02247] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Tiantian Song
- Key Laboratory of Functional Polymer Materials of Ministry of Education; Institute of Polymer Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
| | - Xiaoxue Wu
- Key Laboratory of Functional Polymer Materials of Ministry of Education; Institute of Polymer Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
| | - Jun Xu
- Advanced Materials Laboratory of Ministry of Education, Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Haimu Ye
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, College of New Energy and Materials, China University of Petroleum, Beijing 102249, China
| | - Weichao Shi
- Key Laboratory of Functional Polymer Materials of Ministry of Education; Institute of Polymer Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
- Haihe Laboratory of Sustainable Chemical Transformations, Tianjin 300071, China
| |
Collapse
|