Fluorapatite mineral
Fluorapatite is the calcium phosphate fluoride mineral with IMA-CNMNC formula Ca5(PO4)3F. The September 2026 list records renamed status and a 2010 special procedure; this is not a new-mineral approval number. It is distinct from elemental phosphorus or fluorine, hydroxyapatite, chlorapatite and the heterogeneous phosphate-rock resource. No criticality designation is inherited from its constituents.
Microbial & Biochemical Mechanisms (1)
Culture-associated calcium oxalate formation on a fluorapatite crystal
biomineralization
Microbial
Associated Organisms:
Serpula himantioides (NCBITaxon:80602), Coniophora puteana (NCBITaxon:80637), Serpula lacrymans (NCBITaxon:85982), Amyloporia xantha (NCBITaxon:1333629)
Brown-rot fungal cultures on a source-identified fluorapatite crystal produced surface material assigned to calcium oxalate monohydrate, whewellite. Serpula himantioides LE-BIN 1368, Coniophora puteana LE-BIN 1370 and source-named Antrodia xantha LE-BIN 1029 have powder-diffraction as well as microscopy assignments; the Serpula lacrymans LE-BIN 1192 comparison relies on microscopy. This supports laboratory surface biomineralization without quantifying fluorapatite dissolution, phosphorus or fluorine mobilization, or an isolated recovered product.
Experimental Context & Analytical Limits:
Table 3 identifies a Cl-bearing fluorapatite crystal from the Slyudyanka mineral deposit in the Irkutsk region, with Cl approximately 1.17 wt% and formula Ca5(PO4)3(F,Cl). This source-assigned substituted specimen is not a pure fluorapatite endmember or bulk phosphate ore. The listed agar propagation medium contains CaCl2 and phosphate salts; the liquid formulation is not separately tabulated. Without a no-mineral calcium balance, the calcium in the new crystals cannot be assigned exclusively to dissolution of the substrate. Methods 2.2 describes approximately 1 x 0.5 x 0.5 cm blocks in plastic Petri dishes with 20 mL liquid glucose-peptone medium, initial pH 5.5, room temperature and 30 days, in triplicate. Mycelial fragments came from ten-day cultures on glucose-peptone agar. Inoculum amount, substrate sterilization and a separate complete liquid-medium formulation are not specified. The paper names Antrodia xantha; current NCBI taxonomy and its cited ribosomal accession use Amyloporia xantha for LE-BIN 1029. The organisms list includes the tested comparator S. lacrymans; it does not assert identical mineral formation by every listed culture.
Table 3 identifies a Cl-bearing fluorapatite crystal from the Slyudyanka mineral deposit in the Irkutsk region, with Cl approximately 1.17 wt% and formula Ca5(PO4)3(F,Cl). This source-assigned substituted specimen is not a pure fluorapatite endmember or bulk phosphate ore. The listed agar propagation medium contains CaCl2 and phosphate salts; the liquid formulation is not separately tabulated. Without a no-mineral calcium balance, the calcium in the new crystals cannot be assigned exclusively to dissolution of the substrate. Methods 2.2 describes approximately 1 x 0.5 x 0.5 cm blocks in plastic Petri dishes with 20 mL liquid glucose-peptone medium, initial pH 5.5, room temperature and 30 days, in triplicate. Mycelial fragments came from ten-day cultures on glucose-peptone agar. Inoculum amount, substrate sterilization and a separate complete liquid-medium formulation are not specified. The paper names Antrodia xantha; current NCBI taxonomy and its cited ribosomal accession use Amyloporia xantha for LE-BIN 1029. The organisms list includes the tested comparator S. lacrymans; it does not assert identical mineral formation by every listed culture.
Curated Evidence Points:
Support
Source:
vlasov2023
Table 4 lists whewellite by SEM/EDX and PXRD for S. himantioides at pH 2, C. puteana at pH 3 and source-named A. xantha at pH 3.5. Figure 3b is the selected S. himantioides product pattern, with underlying-substrate reflections also present; Figure 4b shows its source-assigned whewellite aggregates. These data support the authors' surface-product phase assignment rather than a phosphorus release measurement.
Partial
Source:
vlasov2023
For S. lacrymans at pH 5.5, Table 4 reports whewellite by SEM/EDX but a dash for PXRD. Section 3.2.2 and Figure 5c describe a small amount of crystals with microscopy-only identification; this is not equivalent to the diffraction-confirmed arms. No fluorapatite-specific uninoculated product pattern, phosphate or fluoride balance, or quantitative sterile-control comparison is supplied. Calcium-containing medium and possible carryover from agar remain alternative calcium sources.
Partial
Source:
vlasov2023
Methods states that fungus-free controls were performed, but the selected mineral-arm results do not provide a matched pH-control series or a quantitative inoculated-versus-uninoculated phase balance. No killed-biomass or cell-free-metabolite comparison isolates a necessary causal step. Oxalate secretion is the proposed explanation, without an arm-specific oxalate time course or molecular intervention in this study. PXRD methods are referred to earlier papers; the displayed patterns include substrate peaks. Culture association and source-assigned phases do not establish quantitative microbial enhancement, complete feed consumption or industrial use.
Context_only
Source:
vlasov2023
This is one arm of Vlasov et al. (2023), also represented by the humboldtine record and separately curated mineral-feed owners. The shared paper, its XML/PDF and the different material views are not independent replications. Its comparison with earlier Aspergillus niger studies uses different protocols and does not establish superior extraction rates for the present cultures. The natural adit observations concern calcium oxalates on wood/carbonate rock; they do not establish field deployment of this particular feed transformation.
Context_only
Source:
ima_2026_09
The authority establishes the mineral species name and formula, not the purity, valence, hydration or transformation behavior of the specific experimental material.
Context_only
Source:
ncbi_fungal_taxonomy
Species taxonomy verifies identifiers and current names. A species TaxID does not identify the experimental strain or demonstrate its mineral-transforming phenotype.
Context_only
Source:
genbank_ky352492_1
The deposited sequence carries the Serpula himantioides LE-BIN 1368 source label cited by the paper. This label/sequence match is not independent authentication of the experimental culture or direct evidence for the mechanism.
Context_only
Source:
genbank_ky433978_1
The deposited sequence carries the Coniophora puteana LE-BIN 1370 source label cited by the paper. This label/sequence match is not independent authentication of the experimental culture or direct evidence for the mechanism.
Context_only
Source:
genbank_ky352493_1
The deposited sequence carries the Serpula lacrymans LE-BIN 1192 source label cited by the paper. This label/sequence match is not independent authentication of the experimental culture or direct evidence for the mechanism.
Context_only
Source:
genbank_ky433983_1
The deposited sequence carries the Amyloporia xantha LE-BIN 1029 source label cited by the paper. This label/sequence match is not independent authentication of the experimental culture or direct evidence for the mechanism.
Sources & References
-
ima_2026_09: IMA-CNMNC. The New IMA List of Minerals, September 2026. Fluorapatite row, PDF page 74; introductory column definitions and distribution terms.
https://cnmnc.units.it/files/editor/IMA_Master_List_(2026-09).pdf (accessed 2026-10-12) -
vlasov2023: Vlasov, Zelenskaya, Izatulina, Janson and Frank-Kamenetskaya (2023). Oxalate Crystallization under the Action of Brown Rot Fungi. Crystals 13:432. Complete main article; Methods 2.2-2.3, Tables 2-4 and mineral-specific Figures 3-7.
https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst13030432 (accessed 2026-10-12) -
ncbi_fungal_taxonomy: NCBI Taxonomy. Species nodes 80602, 80637, 85982 and 1333629; current names and species ranks.
https://eutils.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/eutils/efetch.fcgi?db=taxonomy&id=80602,80637,85982,1333629&retmode=xml (accessed 2026-10-12) -
genbank_ky352492_1: NCBI GenBank KY352492.1. Ribosomal sequence and source strain label Serpula himantioides LE-BIN 1368; identity context only.
https://eutils.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/eutils/efetch.fcgi?db=nuccore&id=KY352492.1&rettype=gb&retmode=text (accessed 2026-10-12) -
genbank_ky433978_1: NCBI GenBank KY433978.1. Ribosomal sequence and source strain label Coniophora puteana LE-BIN 1370; identity context only.
https://eutils.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/eutils/efetch.fcgi?db=nuccore&id=KY433978.1&rettype=gb&retmode=text (accessed 2026-10-12) -
genbank_ky352493_1: NCBI GenBank KY352493.1. Ribosomal sequence and source strain label Serpula lacrymans LE-BIN 1192; identity context only.
https://eutils.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/eutils/efetch.fcgi?db=nuccore&id=KY352493.1&rettype=gb&retmode=text (accessed 2026-10-12) -
genbank_ky433983_1: NCBI GenBank KY433983.1. Ribosomal sequence and source strain label Amyloporia xantha LE-BIN 1029; identity context only.
https://eutils.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/eutils/efetch.fcgi?db=nuccore&id=KY433983.1&rettype=gb&retmode=text (accessed 2026-10-12)
Curation History
| Timestamp | Curator | Action | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
2026-10-12T00:15:57Z |
codex (GPT-6; codex) | CREATE | Added fluorapatite as a distinct mineral with strain- and method-resolved surface calcium oxalate observations, retaining feed substitution, alternative calcium sources and unmeasured phosphorus and fluoride outcomes. |
Record source: data/records/fluorapatite.yaml