Biomineralization processes leading to complex solid structures of inorganic material in biological systems are constantly gaining attention in biotechnology and biomedical research. An outstanding example for biomineral morphogenesis is the formation of highly elaborate, nano-patterned silica shells by diatoms. Among the organic macromolecules that have been closely linked to the tightly contr...

Biomineralization by marine phytoplankton, such as the silicifying diatoms and calcifying coccolithophores, plays an important role in carbon and nutrient cycling in the oceans. Silicification and calcification are distinct cellular processes with no known common mechanisms. It is thought that coccolithophores are able to outcompete diatoms in Si-depleted waters, which can contribute to the for...

under the contemporary scenario of global climate change and increasing coastal eutrophication, baseline studies of phytoplankton diversity and distribution in relation to habitat conditions constitute the first approach to evaluate potential shifts at the base of the food webs. here we present data of phytoplankton species composition and environmental variables in winter 2006 in a temperate e...

Dinoflagellate blooms in coastal upwelling systems are restricted to times and places with reduced exchange and mixing. The Rías Baixas of Galicia are four bays in the NW Iberian upwelling with these characteristics where harmful algal blooms (HABs) of dinoflagellates are common. These blooms are especially recurrent at the end of the upwelling season, when autumn downwelling amplifies accumula...

Phytoplankton species composition as well as amount of Chlorophyll-a and their relation to physico-chemical parameters were studied. The samples were collected monthly from October 1996 until September 1997 in two stations, i.e. Lavan and Douberkeh coastal waters. In this study, 65 phytoplankton species related to 3 groups of diatoms, dinoflagellats and Blue-Green Algae (24 genus and 44 species...

This study examined the effect that silica content in diatom cells has on the behavior of protists. The diatoms Thalassiosira weissflogii and T. pseudonanawere cultured in high or low light conditions to achieve low and high silica contents, respectively. These cells were then fed to a heterotrophic dinoflagellate Noctiluca scintillans and a ciliate Euplotes sp. in single and mixed diet experim...

We examined the response of diatoms to naturally experienced temperatures and tested these hypotheses: (1) diatoms follow the rule that organism size decreases with increasing temperature; (2) diatom growth rate follows a Q10-like response; (3) diatom carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) content per unit volume (V) decrease with increasing size, and changes in temperature affect this relationship; and (...

Abstract. Diatoms are an extraordinarily successful group of organisms and their many thousands species have diversified specialized so as to occupy every environmental niche. Part success derives from unique protective cell walls, beautifully elaborate structures made pure silica. However, living inside walls this rigid, refractory material creates problems. Just how diatoms circumvent these p...