ArticleNature communications2021
Structural evidence for extracellular silica formation by diatoms.
Article in Nature communications, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers.
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Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 63 citations in OpenAlex.
- Roadmap for light interaction with biophotonic surfaces and their diverse applications.Journal of biomedical optics · 2026Article
- Article
- The Ratio of Silicon to Chitin in Diatom Cell Walls Influences Their Resilience to Environmental Stress.Research (Washington, D.C.) · 2026Article
- Morphology and mechanical behavior of diatoms in wet and dry states studied using nano-XCT.BMC biology · 2025Article
- Diatom-Based Artificial Antigen-Presenting Cells: A Novel Approach for Adaptive Immune Modulation.ACS applied materials & interfaces · 2025Article
- Design Principles Of Inorganic-Protein Hybrid Materials for Biomedicine.Exploration (Beijing, China) · 2025Review
- Harnessing Microalgae as Sustainable Cell Factories for Polyamine-Based Nanosilica for Biomedical Applications.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Diatoms: harnessing nature's microscopic marvels for biosensing and multifaceted applications.Biophysical reviews · 2025Review
- Silica-Biomacromolecule Interactions: Toward a Mechanistic Understanding of Silicification.Biomacromolecules · 2025Review
- Identification of Cocconeis neothumensis var. marina using a polyphasic approach including ultrastructure and gene annotation.PloS one · 2025Article
- Hexagonal Patterns in Diatom Silica Form via a Directional Two-Step Process.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2024Article
- Intracellular morphogenesis of diatom silica is guided by local variations in membrane curvature.Nature communications · 2024Article
- A Descriptive Review on the Potential Use of Diatom Biosilica as a Powerful Functional Biomaterial: A Natural Drug Delivery System.Pharmaceutics · 2024Review
- Modification of Living Diatom,ACS applied bio materials · 2024Article
- A bioinspired surface tension-driven route toward programmed cellular ceramics.Nature communications · 2024Article
- The draft genome of Nitzschia closterium f. minutissima and transcriptome analysis reveals novel insights into diatom biosilicification.BMC genomics · 2024Article
- Exocytosis of the silicified cell wall of diatoms involves extensive membrane disintegration.Nature communications · 2023Article
- The elements of life: A biocentric tour of the periodic table.Advances in microbial physiology · 2023Article
- Ultrastructure of setae of a planktonic diatom, Chaetoceros coarctatus.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- Investigating the Morphology and Mechanics of Biogenic Hierarchical Materials at and below Micrometer Scale.Nanomaterials (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The silica cell wall of diatoms, a widespread group of unicellular microalgae, is an exquisite example for the ability of organisms to finely sculpt minerals under strict biological control. The prevailing paradigm for diatom silicification is that this is invariably an intracellular process, occurring inside specialized silica deposition vesicles that are responsible for silica precipitation and morphogenesis. Here, we study the formation of long silicified extensions that characterize many diatom species. We use cryo-electron tomography to image silica formation in situ, in 3D, and at a nanometer-scale resolution. Remarkably, our data suggest that, contradictory to the ruling paradigm, these intricate structures form outside the cytoplasm. In addition, the formation of these silica extensions is halted at low silicon concentrations that still support the formation of other cell wall elements, further alluding to a different silicification mechanism. The identification of this unconventional strategy expands the suite of mechanisms that diatoms use for silicification.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.