Importance of minerals and biomineralization in the evolution of metazoans
Keywords:
biochemistry, skeleton, minerals, metazoa, mvolutionAbstract
Organisms that precipitate minerals are called biomineralizers. Biomineralization is the biochemical process by which the skeleton of animals is formed, which is the structure that gives protection or support to metazoans. The main biominerals are calcium carbonate, hydroxylapatite, and silica. In the fossil record, biomineralization appears in the Ediacaran period (550 Ma) and for the Ordovician (485 Ma) it was already well established. Evolution shows that it was a convergent or parallel process that helped the radiation of all Phyla. Biomineralization is a key for the understanding of the past and present of the biota. In this contribution it is performed a brief review about biomineralization in the animals and their fossil record.
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