Amorphous Calcium Carbonate Granules Form Within an Intracellular Compartment in Calcifying Cyanobacteria.

ABSTRACT: The recent discovery of cyanobacteria forming intracellular amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) has challenged the former paradigm suggesting that cyanobacteria-mediated carbonatogenesis was exclusively extracellular. Yet, the mechanisms of intracellular biomineralization in cyanobacteria and in particular whether this takes place within an intracellular microcompartment, remain poorly understood. Here, we analyzed six cyanobacterial strains forming intracellular ACC by transmission electron microscopy. We tested two different approaches to preserve as well as possible the intracellular ACC inclusions: (i) freeze-substitution followed by epoxy embedding and room-temperature ultramicrotomy and (ii) high-pressure freezing followed by cryo-ultramicrotomy, usually referred to as cryo-electron mi

SUBMITTER: Blondeau M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6087745 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature