The intricate dynamics of diatom blooms, influenced by a myriad of external factors and internal signals, continue to fascinate scientists. After recognizing the potential role of density perception and intracellular signaling ...
Cell & Microbiology
Mar 29, 2024
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8
A multidisciplinary team of researchers from Skoltech has discovered the resonance frequencies of diatom frustules. These intricately structured silicon dioxide shells of single-celled microalgae provide a promising model ...
Optics & Photonics
Dec 13, 2023
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19
Diatoms are an important group of red lineage species in the oceans that produce about 20% of the Earth's primary productivity. Unlike green algae and higher plants, diatom photosystems bind fucoxanthin-chlorophyll a/c binding ...
Plants & Animals
Oct 30, 2023
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1
A study published in PNAS Nexus explores the genetic expression of a photosynthetic symbiont that lives inside an abundant marine organism. Marine diatoms are responsible for one-fifth of global photosynthesis. Many are coastal, ...
Ecology
Jun 28, 2023
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5
A closed copper mine on the Baltic Sea coast just south of Västervik has helped researchers study the capacity of coastal diatoms to survive when the environmental conditions change. A thesis from the University of Gothenburg ...
Evolution
Dec 7, 2022
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3
A new study has revealed how the glass-like shells of diatoms help these microscopic organisms perform photosynthesis in dim conditions. A better understanding of how these phytoplankton harvest and interact with light could ...
Optics & Photonics
Nov 22, 2022
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77
While calcifying organisms like oysters and corals have difficulty forming their shells and skeletons in more acidic seawater, diatoms have been considered less susceptible to the effects of ocean acidification—a chemical ...
Environment
May 25, 2022
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160
The discovery of two new and unusual species of diatoms (phytoplankton) in Hawaiian waters was announced by a team of University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa researchers in the Department of Oceanography's Center for Microbial Oceanography: ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 15, 2022
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479
Iron concentration limits the growth of phytoplankton in extensive high nutrient low chlorophyll (HNLC) regions of the ocean.
Plants & Animals
Jan 26, 2022
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3
Ocean acidification—which is mainly caused by carbon dioxide gas in the atmosphere dissolving into the ocean—is a significant threat to the structure and function of marine life. In a study published in the New Phytologist, ...
Environment
Jan 6, 2022
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9
Diatoms (Greek: διά (dia) = "through" + τέμνειν (temnein) = "to cut", i.e., "cut in half") are a major group of eukaryotic algae, and are one of the most common types of phytoplankton. Most diatoms are unicellular, although they can exist as colonies in the shape of filaments or ribbons (e.g. Fragillaria), fans (Meridion), zigzags (Tabellaria), or stellate colonies (Asterionella). Diatoms are producers within the food chain. A characteristic feature of diatom cells is that they are encased within a unique cell wall made of silica (hydrated silicon dioxide) called a frustule. These frustules show a wide diversity in form, some quite beautiful and ornate, but usually consist of two asymmetrical sides with a split between them, hence the group name. Fossil evidence suggests that they originated during, or before, the early Jurassic Period. Diatom communities are a popular tool for monitoring environmental conditions, past and present, and are commonly used in studies of water quality. Scientists specializing in their study are sometimes called diatomists.
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