Exponential crystallization in corals

Corals form their reef-building aragonite (CaCO<sub>3</sub>) skeletons via transient precursor phases yet understanding of the dynamics of these early-stage transformations remains incomplete. Using time-independent myriad mapping (MM) at 50 nm resolution, we map five mineral phases near the skeleton surface of Stylophora pistillata corals grown in varying seawater pH. All precursors, crystalline and amorphous, exhibit a consistent exponential decay from the growth front, with a shared decay length of 0.7 ± 0.1 μm, independent of time, phase, or pH. This spatial decay, paired with the constant growth rate of the skeleton, reveals a decay time of 5.1 ± 0.5 minutes. The dominant precursor is not amorphous but crystalline: calcium carbonate hemihydrate (CCHH, CaCO₃·½H₂O). These results suggest that exponential crystallization kinetics govern coral biomineralization and may be a widespread feature in biogenic, geologic, and synthetic systems-traceable long after initial mineral deposition.

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Publication Details

Journal
Nature Communications
Published
2026-02-17
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-69215-4
Primary Topic
Calcium Carbonate Crystallization and Inhibition
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Exponential crystallization in corals

Isabelle M. LeCloux, Natalie Beltz, Éric Tambutté, Alexander A. Venn et al.
Nature Communications
Calcium Carbonate Crystallization and Inhibition
article

Exponential crystallization in corals

Isabelle M. LeCloux, Natalie Beltz, Éric Tambutté, Alexander A. Venn, Jaden S. Sengkhammee, Jianfeng Ye, Sylvie Bénazet Tambutté, Samantha Anglemyer, Christian Waltenberg, Pupa U. P. A. Gilbert, Zoe Rechav, Sylvia W. Lewis, Brynne E. Dixson-Kruijf, Barat Q. Achinuq, Anders M. Larson, Rhita Rich, James L. Schwenk, Lateef O. Saheed, Nicolas A. Chou, Johannes Domagk
article en

Abstract

Corals form their reef-building aragonite (CaCO<sub>3</sub>) skeletons via transient precursor phases yet understanding of the dynamics of these early-stage transformations remains incomplete. Using time-independent myriad mapping (MM) at 50 nm resolution, we map five mineral phases near the skeleton surface of Stylophora pistillata corals grown in varying seawater pH. All precursors, crystalline and amorphous, exhibit a consistent exponential decay from the growth front, with a shared decay length of 0.7 ± 0.1 μm, independent of time, phase, or pH. This spatial decay, paired with the constant growth rate of the skeleton, reveals a decay time of 5.1 ± 0.5 minutes. The dominant precursor is not amorphous but crystalline: calcium carbonate hemihydrate (CCHH, CaCO₃·½H₂O). These results suggest that exponential crystallization kinetics govern coral biomineralization and may be a widespread feature in biogenic, geologic, and synthetic systems-traceable long after initial mineral deposition.

Nature CommunicationsVol. 17(1)
University of Wisconsin–Madison (US), Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (US), Scientific Centre of Monaco (MC)
National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Energy, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Office of Science, Division of Materials Research, Basic Energy Sciences, Chemical Sciences, Geosciences, and Biosciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Life below water
Openalex Percentile: Top 53%
Calcium Carbonate Crystallization and Inhibition
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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