Tracking sulfate, magnesium and amorphous phases in cultured benthic foraminifera
- 1Université de Lorraine (Nancy, France)
- 2Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (Paris, France)
- 3Centre de Recherches Pétrographiques et Géochimiques (Vandœuvre-lès-Nancy, France)
Abstract
In this study, we combined high resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) bright field and High-Angle Annular Dark-Field Scanning TEM imaging with nanoscale Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (NanoSIMS) analyses of Rosalina sp. foraminifer cells cultured in ³³ S-labeled seawater to understand the origin of sulfur in the test and the cytoplasm, its interaction with the ultrastructure of the test and the co-distribution of sulfur with phosphorus, calcium and magnesium. Cells that lived in ³³ SO ₄ -labeled seawater revealed that at least 1/4 of the sulfur observed in the cytoplasm comes from seawater sulfate incorporated during the duration of the growth experiment. Our observations reveal a global co-occurrence of S and Mg within the last two chambers of the test, that all appear more concentrated in two areas, mostly near the Primary Organic Sheet (POS) and in the Outer Calcitic Layer (OCL) that corresponds to the calcite added during the growth of the last chamber. Less crystalline grains can be found in the S and Mg-richest part of the POS and within OCLs. We interpret these grains as a non-crystalline phase likely containing Amorphous Calcium Carbonate (ACC) and organic matter, formed or assembled at the sites of calcification, revealing a complex interplay between S, Mg and Ca. Labeled sulfur is also found within smaller vesicles in the cytoplasm and represents overall 10 % to 25 % of the sulfur we observe. Though we cannot confirm the occurrence of an assimilatory pathway for sulfur in foraminifera, the clear presence of seawater sulfate in the cell demonstrates that sulfate is involved in many aspects of foraminifer biological activity, in close association with Ca-transportation, Mg distribution, and likely with ACC formation and its evolution to calcite.
Versions
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BibTeX
@article{paris2026tracking,
title = {{Tracking sulfate, magnesium and amorphous phases in cultured benthic foraminifera}},
author = {Guillaume Paris and Caroline Thaler and Marc Dellinger and Jérôme Aléon and Smail Mostefaoui and Alice Aléon-Toppani and Claire Rollion-Bard and David Troadec and Guillaume Yangshu Wang and Annachiara Bartolini},
journal = {Biogeosciences},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.5194/bg-23-7911-2026},
url = {https://bg.copernicus.org/articles/23/7911/2026/},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Tracking sulfate, magnesium and amorphous phases in cultured benthic foraminifera
AU - Guillaume Paris
AU - Caroline Thaler
AU - Marc Dellinger
AU - Jérôme Aléon
AU - Smail Mostefaoui
AU - Alice Aléon-Toppani
AU - Claire Rollion-Bard
AU - David Troadec
AU - Guillaume Yangshu Wang
AU - Annachiara Bartolini
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/06
JO - Biogeosciences
DO - 10.5194/bg-23-7911-2026
UR - https://bg.copernicus.org/articles/23/7911/2026/
AB - In this study, we combined high resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) bright field and High-Angle Annular Dark-Field Scanning TEM imaging with nanoscale Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (NanoSIMS) analyses of Rosalina sp. foraminifer cells cultured in ³³ S-labeled seawater to understand the origin of sulfur in the test and the cytoplasm, its interaction with the ultrastructure of the test and the co-distribution of sulfur with phosphorus, calcium and magnesium. Cells that lived in ³³ SO ₄ -labeled seawater revealed that at least 1/4 of the sulfur observed in the cytoplasm comes from seawater sulfate incorporated during the duration of the growth experiment. Our observations reveal a global co-occurrence of S and Mg within the last two chambers of the test, that all appear more concentrated in two areas, mostly near the Primary Organic Sheet (POS) and in the Outer Calcitic Layer (OCL) that corresponds to the calcite added during the growth of the last chamber. Less crystalline grains can be found in the S and Mg-richest part of the POS and within OCLs. We interpret these grains as a non-crystalline phase likely containing Amorphous Calcium Carbonate (ACC) and organic matter, formed or assembled at the sites of calcification, revealing a complex interplay between S, Mg and Ca. Labeled sulfur is also found within smaller vesicles in the cytoplasm and represents overall 10 % to 25 % of the sulfur we observe. Though we cannot confirm the occurrence of an assimilatory pathway for sulfur in foraminifera, the clear presence of seawater sulfate in the cell demonstrates that sulfate is involved in many aspects of foraminifer biological activity, in close association with Ca-transportation, Mg distribution, and likely with ACC formation and its evolution to calcite.
SN - 1726-4189
ER -