Abstract
Biomineralization processes, by which organisms form inorganic minerals, are broadly distributed and occur in almost every phylum of the biological world1,2,3. There is a large diversity of minerals formed, with over 60 currently known1. The cations of the most widely occuring minerals are the divalent alkaline earths Mg, Ca, Sr and Ba. These are paired with the anions carbonate, hydroxide, oxalate, oxide, phosphate, sulfate and sulfide. Silica, hydrous silicon oxide, also occurs widely in algae (Table 1). These minerals function as exo- and endoskeletons, cation storage, lenses, gravity devices and in other roles in various organisms.
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Frankel, R.B. (1991). Iron Biominerals: An Overview. In: Frankel, R.B., Blakemore, R.P. (eds) Iron Biominerals. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-3810-3_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-3810-3_1
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