Mg. Taylor et al., AN X-RAY-ABSORPTION SPECTROSCOPY STUDY OF THE STRUCTURE AND TRANSFORMATION OF AMORPHOUS CALCIUM-CARBONATE FROM PLANT CYSTOLITHS, Proceedings - Royal Society. Biological Sciences, 252(1333), 1993, pp. 75-80
Cystoliths are intracellular calcified bodies which are found in great
numbers in the leaves of many higher plants such as Ficus retusa. The
mineral part of these deposits is amorphous calcium carbonate, which
transforms to calcite only when moistened. We have followed this trans
formation by using X-ray spectroscopy by measuring the local atomic st
ructure around the calcium of the isolated dry cystoliths and after mo
istening them with water. The production and maintenance of the amorph
ous phase is clearly under biological control. The cystoliths may act
as a pH-stat which neutralizes hydroxide ions. Potentially cytotoxic c
ations also accumulate in the cystoliths. Rapid precipitation of calci
um carbonate into the organic matrix could favour the amorphous phase,
which may be maintained by low concentrations of magnesium and phosph
ate, which are inhibitors of the nucleation of crystalline phases.