BIOLOGICAL MECHANISM OF CORAL SKELETON FORMATION:PROGRESS AND PROSPECTS
Corals precipitate calcium carbonate(CaCO3)skeletons to form reef-based ecosystems,playing an important role in maintaining marine biodiversity and global carbon cycle.Coral biomineralization is a complex dynamic process,which is regulated comprehensively by skeletal organic matrix,biological control of crystal growth,and ocean geochemistry.To date,our knowledge of the biological regulation of coral skeleton formation is still quite limited.We summarized the research progress in the calcification process of Octocorallia and Scleractinia from the perspectives of skeleton structure and evolutionary history,the regulation mechanism of skeletal organic matrix,coral calcification model,and the influence of environmental factors on coral calcification.We focused on the structure of calicoblastic cells and ion transport pathway at the tissue-skeleton interface,and outlined a preliminary coral calcification model.The skeleton structure of different CaCO3 polymorphs,the low common rate of organic matrix proteins,and the difference in biologically controlled calcification process indicated that Octocorallia and Scleractinia might employ different coral calcification strategies.Future studies on coral biomineralization shall integrate the advantages of multiple disciplines to explore the mechanism of coral skeletal formation and to reveal the environmental factors that drive skeletal formation.It is necessary to provide a preliminary framework for understanding how corals respond to modern global warming and ocean acidification trends.
OctocoralliaScleractiniacoral biomineralizationskeletal organic matrixcalcification model
万方数据
维普
