Marine planktonic organisms, such as diatoms, are prospective sources of novel bioactive metabolites. Oxygenated derivatives of fatty acids, generally referred to as oxylipins, in diatoms comprise a highly diverse and complex family of secondary metabolites. These molecules have recently been implicated in several biological processes including intra- and inter-cellular signaling as well as in ...

DNA barcoding is a molecular tool that exploits a unique DNA sequence of a standardized gene or non-coding region for the species identification of unknown individuals. The investigation into a suitable barcode for diatoms is ongoing and there are several promising candidates including mitochondrial, plastidial and nuclear markers. We analyzed 272 sequences from 76 diatoms species in the orders...

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or Lou Gehrig's disease is a neurological disorder linked to environmental exposure to a non-protein amino acid, β-N-methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA). The only organisms reported to be BMAA-producing, are cyanobacteria--prokaryotic organisms. In this study, we demonstrate that diatoms--eukaryotic organisms--also produce BMAA. Ultra-high-performance liquid chromat...

1. Cells of the fresh water diatom Navicula pelliculosa may be grown in a mineral medium containing a low concentration of silicon. When transferred to a fresh silicate solution and incubated under non-growing conditions such deficient cells rapidly take up silicon from the medium. 2. The utilization of silicon is an aerobic process. 3. When deficient cells are washed with distilled water or sa...

the colourful interference of diatom shells (bottom panel). More than a hundred years on, and with the use of modern illumination and photography, Möller's original preparations reveal why they may have fascinated many a dinner party. Imagine a dinner party where the host, instead of serving dessert, invites you to take a look down the microscope in the drawing room. And instead of a digestive ...

The spatial distribution of surface sediment diatoms in Chaohu Lake (southeast China), and their relationships with environmental and spatial variables were analyzed in this study. The diatom assemblages were dominated by planktonic species. Three dominant species Cyclostephanos dubius, Aulacoseira granulata and Aulacoseira alpigena are unevenly distributed across the lake. The distribution of ...

The dynamics and formation mechanisms of marine snow aggregates from abandoned larvacean houses were examined by laboratory experiments and field sampling during a spring diatom bloom in a shallow fjord on the west coast of the USA. Intact aggregates were sampled both from sediment traps and directly from the water column by divers. All aggregates were composed of 1 abandoned house of the larva...

cGametogenesis and auxospore development have been studied in detail in surprisingly few centric diatoms. We studied the development of sperm, eggs and auxospores in Actinocyclus sp., a radially symmetrical freshwater diatom collected from Japan, using LM and electron microscopy of living cultures and thin sections. Actinocyclus represents a deep branch of the 'radial centric' diatoms and shoul...

Introduction Conclusions References

Photosynthetic pigments are bioactive compounds of great importance for the food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries. They are not only responsible for capturing solar energy to carry out photosynthesis, but also play a role in photoprotective processes and display antioxidant activity, all of which contribute to effective biomass and oxygen production. Diatoms are organisms of a distinct ...