Li et al. (2026): Carbon dioxide sequestration into biomineral armor by ants
Hongjie Li, Yihang Fang, Weiqiang Li, Jing Liu, Chang-Yu Sun, Xue Kang, Gaspar Bruner-Montero, Joseph Sardina, Xiaochang Mo, Jia-Long Hao, Jianchu Mo, Lei Cheng, Zhaoming Liu, Ted R. Schultz, Richard E. Johnston and Cameron R. Currie, IN: bioRxiv, https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.01.21.700952
Over geologic time, Earth’s climate has been shaped by the capture and conversion of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) into stable carbonate minerals, including dolomite [CaMg(CO₃)₂]. Accelerating natural carbon mineralization offers significant potential for mitigating anthropogenic climate change. Using stable carbon isotope tracking, nano-scale secondary ion mass spectroscopy, and 13C SSNMR, the authors show that, paralleling global biosphere-level processes, Sericomyrmex amabilis fungus-farming ants rapidly convert CO₂ in their nest chambers into a biomineral layer covering their exoskeletons.