Carbon capture research has long focused on industrial processes and engineered materials. A newly identified biological mechanism suggests nature solved part of the problem millions of years earlier.
The fungus-farming ant species Sericomyrmex amabilis, found across Central and South America, converts atmospheric carbon dioxide into dolomite — a calcium-magnesium carbonate mineral — and incorporates it directly into its exoskeleton, according to the announcement. It is the first known animal documented to have evolved this ability independently, without relying on symbiotic bacteria.
The finding extends research led by Cameron Currie at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who in 2020 identified a related mechanism in Acromyrmex echinatior ants. That species achieves carbonate biomineralization through a partnership with Pseudonocardia bacteria. Sericomyrmex amabilis accomplishes the same result on its own, through processes the team has not yet fully characterized.
Why Dolomite Is Significant
The mineral itself is the notable detail. Dolomite forms naturally over geological timescales — the Dolomite mountains of Italy are a familiar example — requiring millions of years and precise alignment of calcium and magnesium atoms. Replicating that process in laboratory conditions demands high temperatures and pressures, largely because magnesium binds tightly to surrounding water molecules and resists integration into calcium carbonate crystal structures, Currie explains. The ants achieve it quickly, at ambient conditions.
Team member Hongjie Li at Zhejiang University notes that the ants accomplish this without elevated heat. The mechanism behind that feat is the central question driving the next phase of the team’s research.
The ecological logic is straightforward. Fungus-farming ants maintain dense colonies where cultivated fungi produce elevated CO₂ concentrations. Converting that gas into solid mineral armour simultaneously reinforces the exoskeleton and prevents toxic CO₂ buildup inside the nest — a single biological process serving two distinct survival functions.
Implications for Carbon Sequestration
“We have discovered a natural system that has evolved, over millions of years, to reduce the toxic accumulation of atmospheric CO2 in an ant colony,” Currie says. He adds that the ants are “the first animal shown to be engaging in such a process, offering exciting potential as a model for human efforts” in converting atmospheric CO₂ into carbonate minerals.
Cody Freas at the University of Toulouse, who was not involved in the study, describes the adaptation as one in which “individuals take on the role of living carbon scrubbers, converting atmospheric carbon dioxide into a protective mineral armour.” He characterizes the result as both atmospheric regulation and bioengineered physical defense.
The research is currently available on bioRxiv (DOI: 10.64898/2026.01.21.700952) and has not yet completed peer review. Understanding precisely how Sericomyrmex amabilis overcomes the magnesium-hydration barrier that stymies laboratory synthesis could, the team suggests, inform the design of low-energy carbon mineralization processes.
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