Wilt Fred H
Department of Molecular Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-3200, USA.
Dev Biol. 2005 Apr 1;280(1):15-25. doi: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2005.01.019.
Biomineralization is the process by which metazoa form hard minerals for support, defense, and feeding. The minerals so formed, e.g., teeth, bones, shells, carapaces, and spicules, are of considerable interest to chemists and materials scientists. The cell biology underlying biomineralization is not well understood. The study of the formation of mineralized structures in developing organisms offers opportunities for understanding some intriguing aspects of cell and developmental biology. Five examples of biomineralization are presented: (1) the formation of siliceous spicules and frustules in sponges and diatoms, respectively; (2) the structure of skeletal spicules composed of amorphous calcium carbonate in some tunicates; (3) the secretion of the prism and nacre of some molluscan shells; (4) the development of skeletal spicules of sea urchin embryos; and (5) the formation of enamel of vertebrate teeth. Some speculations on the cellular and molecular mechanisms that support biomineralization, and their evolutionary origins, are discussed.
生物矿化是后生动物形成坚硬矿物质以用于支撑、防御和进食的过程。如此形成的矿物质，例如牙齿、骨骼、贝壳、甲壳和骨针，引起了化学家和材料科学家的极大兴趣。生物矿化背后的细胞生物学尚未得到充分理解。对发育中的生物体中矿化结构形成的研究为理解细胞和发育生物学的一些有趣方面提供了机会。本文介绍了五个生物矿化的例子：（1）海绵和硅藻中分别形成硅质骨针和硅藻壳；（2）一些被囊动物中由无定形碳酸钙组成的骨骼骨针的结构；（3）一些软体动物贝壳棱柱层和珍珠层的分泌；（4）海胆胚胎骨骼骨针的发育；（5）脊椎动物牙齿釉质的形成。文中还讨论了支持生物矿化的细胞和分子机制及其进化起源的一些推测。
