Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34910521›Full record

ArticleScience advances2021

Pelagic diatoms communicate through synchronized beacon natural fluorescence signaling.

Joan S Font-Muñoz, Marc Sourisseau, Amanda Cohen-Sánchez, Idan Tuval, Gotzon Basterretxea

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Science advances, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Article
  3. Algal optics.Physical review. E · 2026
    Article
  4. Anisotropic fluorescence emission by diatoms modifies the underwater oceanic light field.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025
    Article
  5. Article
  6. The function and consequences of fluorescence in tetrapods.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2024
    Article
  7. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Joan S Font-MuñozIFREMER, French Institute for Sea Research, DYNECO PELAGOS, 29280 Plouzané, France.ORCID 0000-0001-6964-8866
Marc SourisseauIFREMER, French Institute for Sea Research, DYNECO PELAGOS, 29280 Plouzané, France.ORCID 0000-0002-0778-0076
Amanda Cohen-SánchezMediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies, IMEDEA (UIB-CSIC), Miquel Marques 21, 07190 Esporles, Balearic Islands, Spain.ORCID 0000-0001-9784-9761
Idan TuvalMediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies, IMEDEA (UIB-CSIC), Miquel Marques 21, 07190 Esporles, Balearic Islands, Spain.
Gotzon BasterretxeaMediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies, IMEDEA (UIB-CSIC), Miquel Marques 21, 07190 Esporles, Balearic Islands, Spain.ORCID 0000-0001-7466-1360

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Communication between conspecific individuals is an essential part of life both in terrestrial and marine realms. Until recently, social behavior in marine phytoplankton was assumed to rely mainly on the secretion of a variety of infochemicals that allowed population-scale collective responses. Here, we demonstrate that pelagic diatoms also use Sun-stimulated fluorescence signals for synchronizing their behavior. These unicellular microorganisms, playing a key biogeochemical role in the ocean, use photoreceptor proteins and red–far-red fluorescent radiation to communicate. A characteristic beaconing signal is generated by rhythmic organelle displacement within the cell cytoplasm, triggering coordinated population behavior. These light-based communication networks could critically determine major facets of diatom ecology and fitness and regulate the dynamics of larger-scale ocean processes.

Identifiers

PMID34910521
PMCPMC8673755

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Registered trials

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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.