Biomineralization is a common strategy adopted by organisms to support their body
structure. Plants practice significant silicon and calcium based biomineralization in which
silicon is deposited as silica in cell walls and intracellularly in various cell-types, while
calcium is deposited mostly as calcium oxalate in vacuoles of specialized cells. In this
review, we compare cellular processes leading to protein-dependent mineralization in
plants, diatoms and sponges (phylum Porifera). The mechanisms of biomineralization in …