Precipitation of amorphous CaCO3 (aragonite-like) by cyanobacteria: A STXM study of the influence of EPS on the nucleation process

An amorphous or nanocrystalline calcium carbonate (ACC) phase with aragonite-like short-range order was found to be a transient precursor phase of calcite precipitation mediated by cyanobacteria of the strain Synechococcus leopoliensis PCC 7942. Using scanning transmission X-ray microscopy (STXM), different Ca-species such as calcite, aragonite-like CaCO3, and Ca adsorbed on extracellular polymers were discriminated and mapped, together with …