Cellulose intrafibrillar mineralization of biological silica in a rice plant

Abstract The essence of morphological design has been a fascinating scientific problem with regard to understanding biological mineralization. Particularly shaped amorphous silicas (plant opals) play an important role in the vital activity rice plants. Although various organic matters are associated silica accumulation, their detailed functions shape-controlled mineralization process have not sufficiently clarified. In present study, cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) were found be essential as scaffold for accumulation husks and leaf blades. Prior silicification, CNFs ~ 10 nm wide sparsely stacked space between epidermal cell wall cuticle layer. Silica nanoparticles 20–50 diameter then deposited framework CNFs. plant opals formed through intrafibrillar on CNF scaffold.