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Deciphering the Chemical Language of Organic-Mineral Interactions to Develop New Biodesign Strategies and Improve Climate Records


EMSL Project ID
49083

Abstract

The shape and pace of skeletal growth in shells and bones are controlled though a complex set of interactions between biologically produced organic compounds and the growing mineral. If we could decipher the language of these chemical interactions, then we could use it to engineer complex materials and devices. At a mechanistic level, these organic-mineral interactions also allow organisms to overcome chemical and physical barriers to crystal growth. Thus, they play a major role in defining the capacity of calcifying organisms to adapt in the face of environmental changes that can make skeletal growth more difficult like ocean acidification. Furthermore, organic-mineral interactions can alter the chemical composition of a skeleton, impacting climate reconstructions that rely on trace element proxies preserved in shells and skeletons. To uncover how organisms use organic-mineral interactions to control mineral growth and skeletal composition, we need to develop new tools and systems to resolve the chemical-scale interactions at his interface and elucidate the mechanisms governing these interactions.

This proposal will uncover how organic-mineral interactions control skeletal morphology and composition in the shell of a single-celled organism (foraminifera). To determine whether organic biomolecules influence skeletal composition we will map elemental concentrations at the organic-mineral interface within a biomineral using correlative imaging that combines NanoSIMS, atom probe tomography (APT), and a newly developed Infrared-Scanning Near Field Optical Microscope (IR-SNOM). APT is the only appropriate technique for mapping the 3-D distribution of atoms associated with an organic-mineral interface in situ, while IR-SNOM is a promising new tool for mapping the location of organic components at a scale that can be compared with compositional data from SIMS. This combination of techniques will allow us to link atomic-scale chemistry to larger scale features and uncover the mechanisms that biomineralizing organisms use to control skeletal growth. Complementing this approach, we will combine foraminiferal culture techniques with high-resolution helium ion microscopy to test whether we can influence organic mineral-interactions to design new skeletal morphologies. Equipped with a newly acquired NanoSIMS, APT, a helium ion microscope, and IR-SNOM, few institutions other than EMSL have the appropriate combination of expertise and key instruments necessary for making these measurements. Our research will lead to a mechanistic understanding of the chemical-scale processes controlling the morphology and composition of environmental materials, with applications to the design of complex biomimetic materials and climate science.

Project Details

Project type
Exploratory Research
Start Date
2015-10-15
End Date
2016-09-30
Status
Closed

Team

Principal Investigator

Alexander Gagnon
Institution
University of Washington

Team Members

Ann Russell
Institution
University of California, Davis

Jennifer Fehrenbacher
Institution
Oregon State University

Oscar Branson
Institution
University of Cambridge

Elisa Angeles Bonnin
Institution
University of Washington

Related Publications

Bonnin E.A., Z. Zhu, J.S. Fehrenbacher, A.D. Russell, B. Honisch, H.J. Spero, and A.C. Gagnon. 2019. "Submicron Sodium Banding in Cultured Planktic Foraminifera Shells." Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 253. PNNL-SA-142331. doi:10.1016/j.gca.2019.03.024
Branson O., E.A. Bonnin, D.E. Perea, H.J. Spero, Z. Zhu, M.A. Winters, and B. Honisch, et al. 2016. "Nanometer-Scale Chemistry of a Calcite Biomineralization Template: Implications for Skeletal Composition and Nucleation." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 113, no. 46:12934-12939. PNNL-SA-112579. doi:10.1073/pnas.1522864113
Fehrenbacher J.S., A.D. Russell, C.V. Davis, A.C. Gagnon, H.J. Spero, J.B. Cliff, and Z. Zhu, et al. 2017. "Link between light-triggered Mg-banding and chamber formation in the planktic foraminifera Neogloboquadrina dutertrei." Nature Communications 8. PNNL-SA-123433. doi:10.1038/ncomms15441