Trace-Element Incorporation into Intracellular Pools Uncovers Calcium-Pathways in a Coccolithophore

Many organisms form minerals from precursor phases that crystallize under strict biological control. The dynamic intracellular processes of formation, transport, and deposition of these precursor phases are challenging to identify. An unusual situation is recently revealed for the calcifying alga Emiliania huxleyi, as the cells contain a compartment filled with a concentrated Ca and P phase but the final calcite crystals, which are nucleated in a different compartment, are P-free. Thus, the connection of the Ca–P-rich pool to the mineralization process remains unclear. Here, pulse-chase experiments are used with Sr to label the Ca–P-rich phase in E. huxleyi cells, and cryo X-ray absorption spectroscopy and analytical transmission electron microscopy to follow the Sr within cells. It is found that Sr is first found in the Ca–P-rich phase and then becomes incorporated into the calcite. This demonstrates that the calcium used by the cells to build calcite originates from the Ca–P-rich pool.