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. 2026 Feb 17.
doi: 10.1038/s41467-026-69215-4. Online ahead of print.

Exponential crystallization in corals

Zoë Rechav  1 , Eric Tambutté  2 , Isabelle M LeCloux  1 , Samantha Anglemyer  1 , Natalie E Beltz  1 , Nicolas A Chou  1 , Brynne E Dixson-Kruijf  1 , Johannes Domagk  1 , Anders M Larson  1 , Sylvia W Lewis  1 , Rhita Rich  1 , Lateef O Saheed  1 , James L Schwenk  1 , Jaden S Sengkhammee  1 , Christian A Waltenberg  1 , Jianfeng Ye  1 , Barat Q Achinuq  3 , Alexander A Venn  2 , Sylvie Tambutté  2 , Pupa U P A Gilbert  4   5   6
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Free article

Exponential crystallization in corals

Zoë Rechav et al. Nat Commun. .
Free article

Abstract

Corals form their reef-building aragonite (CaCO3) skeletons via transient precursor phases yet understanding of the dynamics of these early-stage transformations remains incomplete. Using time-independent myriad mapping (MM) at 50 nm resolution, we map five mineral phases near the skeleton surface of Stylophora pistillata corals grown in varying seawater pH. All precursors, crystalline and amorphous, exhibit a consistent exponential decay from the growth front, with a shared decay length of 0.7 ± 0.1 μm, independent of time, phase, or pH. This spatial decay, paired with the constant growth rate of the skeleton, reveals a decay time of 5.1 ± 0.5 minutes. The dominant precursor is not amorphous but crystalline: calcium carbonate hemihydrate (CCHH, CaCO₃·½H₂O). These results suggest that exponential crystallization kinetics govern coral biomineralization and may be a widespread feature in biogenic, geologic, and synthetic systems-traceable long after initial mineral deposition.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

References

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