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    Diatoms
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    Diatom Studies and Experiments

    • Diatom Science Fair Topics, Experiments [View Experiment]
    • Production of macroaggregates from dissolved exopolymeric substances (EPS) of bacterial and diatom origin [View Experiment]
    • Cryopreservation studies on the marine diatom Navicula subinflata Grun [View Experiment]
    • A method for the combined extraction of pollen, diatoms and phytoliths from forensic soil samples [View Experiment]
    • Extraction Methods of Diatoms-A Review [View Experiment]
    • A Laboratory Method for the Study of Marine Benthic Diatoms [View Experiment]
    • Thesis: Eco-biology of marine diatoms with emphasis on the influence of physico-chemical parameters [View Experiment]
    • Thesis: Studies on ecology of diatoms [View Experiment]
    Diatom Background Information

    Definition

    Diatoms are phytoplankton unicellular eukaryotic algae encased within a unique cell wall made of silica.

    Basics

    Diatoms (Greek: dia = through + temnein = to cut: "cut through") are a big group of eukaryotic algae. They are one of the most common types of phytoplankton. Most diatoms are unicellular, although some form chains or simple colonies. Diatom cells are encased within a unique cell wall made of silica (SiO2). These walls, called frustules, take many forms, some quite beautiful and ornate. They usually consist of two asymmetrical sides with a split between them, which gives the group its name.

    Diatom chloroplasts were probably derived from those of red algae. The fossil record of diatoms starts in strata of the Lower Jurassic, ~185 million years ago. Molecular clock evidence suggests an earlier date for their origin. The entire genomes of two species of diatom have been analysed. The analysis reveals that hundreds of genes in both species came from bacteria.

    Diatoms have some practical uses. Diatom communities are a popular tool for monitoring environmental conditions, past and present. They are commonly used in studies of water quality. They are also of interest to nannotechnology.

    Topics of Interest

    Diatoms are a major group of eukaryotic algae, and are one of the most common types of phytoplankton. Most diatoms are unicellular, although they can exist as colonies in the shape of filaments or ribbons (e.g. Fragillaria), fans (e.g. Meridion), zigzags (e.g. Tabellaria), or stellate colonies (e.g. Asterionella). Diatoms are producers within the food chain. A characteristic feature of diatom cells is that they are encased within a unique cell wall made of silica (hydrated silicon dioxide) called a frustule. These frustules show a wide diversity in form, but usually consist of two asymmetrical sides with a split between them, hence the group name. Fossil evidence suggests that they originated during, or before, the early Jurassic Period. Diatom communities are a popular tool for monitoring environmental conditions, past and present, and are commonly used in studies of water quality.

    There are more than 200 genera of living diatoms, and it is estimated that there are approximately 100,000 extant species. Diatoms are a widespread group and can be found in the oceans, in freshwater, in soils and on damp surfaces. Most live pelagically in open water, although some live as surface films at the water-sediment interface (benthic), or even under damp atmospheric conditions. They are especially important in oceans, where they are estimated to contribute up to 45% of the total oceanic primary production. Spatial distribution of marine phytoplankton species, are restricted both horizontally and vertically. Diatoms occur in all oceans from the poles to the tropics; polar and subpolar regions contain relatively few species compared with temperate biota. Although tropical regions exhibit the greatest number of species, more abundant populations are found in polar to temperate regions. Usually microscopic, some species of diatoms can reach up to 2 millimetres in length.

    Diatoms belong to a large group called the heterokonts, including both autotrophs (e.g. golden algae, kelp) and heterotrophs (e.g. water moulds). Their yellowish-brown chloroplasts are typical of heterokonts, with four membranes and containing pigments such as the carotenoid fucoxanthin. Individuals usually lack flagella, but they are present in gametes and have the usual heterokont structure, except they lack the hairs (mastigonemes) characteristic in other groups. Most diatoms are non-motile, although some move via flagellation. As their relatively dense cell walls cause them to readily sink, planktonic forms in open water usually rely on turbulent mixing of the upper layers by the wind to keep them suspended in sunlit surface waters. Some species actively regulate their buoyancy with intracellular lipids to counter sinking.

    The classification of heterokonts is still unsettled, and they may be treated as a division (or phylum), kingdom, or something in-between. Accordingly, groups like the diatoms may be ranked anywhere from class (usually called Diatomophyceae) to division (usually called Bacillariophyta), with corresponding changes in the ranks of their subgroups.

    Diatoms generally range in size from ca. 2-200μm, and are composed of a cell wall comprising silica. This siliceous wall can be highly patterned with a variety of pores, ribs, minute spines, marginal ridges and elevations; all of which can be utilised to delineate genera and species. The cell itself consists of two halves, each containing an essentially flat plate, or valve and marginal connecting, or girdle band. One half, the hypotheca, is slightly smaller than the other half, the epitheca. Diatom morphology varies, typically though the shape of the cell is circular, although, some cells may be triangular, square, or elliptical.

    Planktonic diatoms in freshwater and marine environments typically exhibit a "boom and bust" (or "bloom and bust") lifestyle. When conditions in the upper mixed layer (nutrients and light) are favourable (e.g. at the start of spring) their competitive edge allows them to quickly dominate phytoplankton communities ("boom" or "bloom"). As such they are often classed as opportunistic r-strategists (i.e. those organisms whose ecology is defined by a high growth rate, r).

    When conditions turn unfavourable, usually upon depletion of nutrients, diatom cells typically increase in sinking rate and exit the upper mixed layer ("bust"). This sinking is induced by either a loss of buoyancy control, the synthesis of mucilage that sticks diatoms cells together, or the production of heavy resting spores. Sinking out of the upper mixed layer removes diatoms from conditions unfavourable to growth, including grazer populations and higher temperatures (which would otherwise increase cell metabolism). Cells reaching deeper water or the shallow seafloor can then rest until conditions become more favourable again. In the open ocean, many sinking cells are lost to the deep, but refuge populations can persist near the thermocline.

    Diatoms are non-motile; however, sperm found in some species can be flagellated, though motility is usually limited to a gliding motion. Reproduction among these organisms is primarily asexual by binary fission, with each daughter cell receiving half of the parent theca as the epitheca and then forming a new hypotheca.

    Evolutionary history: Heterokont chloroplasts appear to be derived from those of red algae, rather than directly from prokaryotes as occurred in plants. This suggests they had a more recent origin than many other algae. However, fossil evidence is scant, and it is really only with the evolution of the diatoms themselves that the heterokonts make a serious impression on the fossil record.

    The fossil record of diatoms has largely been established though the recovery of their siliceous frustules in marine and non-marine sediments. Although diatoms have both a marine and non-marine stratigraphic record, diatom biostratigraphy, which is based on time-constrained evolutionary originations and extinctions of unique taxa, is only well developed and widely applicable in marine systems. The duration of diatom species ranges have been documented through the study of ocean cores and rock sequences exposed on land. Where diatom biozones are well established and calibrated to the geomagnetic polarity time scale (e.g., Southern Ocean, North Pacific, eastern equatorial Pacific), diatom-based age estimates may be resolved to within <100,000 years, although typical age resolution for Cenozoic diatom assemblages is several hundred thousand years.

    The entire genomes of the centric diatom, Thalassiosira pseudonana, and the pennate diatom, Phaeodactylum tricornutum, have been sequenced. The first insights into the genome properties of the P. tricornutum gene repertoire was described using 1,000 ESTs. Subsequently, the number of ESTs was extended to 12,000 and the Diatom EST Database was constructed for functional analyses. These sequences have been used to make a comparative analysis between P. tricornutum and the putative complete proteomes from the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, the red alga Cyanidioschyzon merolae, and T. pseudonana.

    Diatomaceous earth consists of fossilized remains of diatoms, a type of hard-shelled algae. It is used as a filtration aid, as a mild abrasive, as a mechanical insecticide, as an absorbent for liquids, as cat litter, as an activator in blood clotting studies, and as a component of dynamite. As it is also heat-resistant, it can be used as a thermal insulator.

    A frustule is the hard and porous cell wall or external layer of diatoms. The frustule is composed almost purely of silica, made from silicic acid, and is coated with a layer of organic substance, sometimes pectin, a fiber most commonly found in cell walls of plants.

    The frustule's structure is usually composed of two overlapping sections (known as valves). The upper valve is termed the epitheca and is slightly larger and overlaps the lower valve, the hypotheca. The join between the two valves is supported by bands of silica (girdle bands) that hold the two valves together. The overlapping allows for some additional internal expansion room and is essential during the reproduction process when the cell expands to allow for the formation of two new valves as the mother cell divides. As the cell divides each new cell retains one valve of the original frustule. and one new valve. Interestingly this means that one "daughter" cell is the same size as the parental cell (epitheca and new hypotheca) while in the other the old hypotheca becomes the new epitheca in the smaller daughter cell. The frustule also contains many pores and slits that provide the diatom access to the external environment for process such as waste removal and mucilage secretion.

    In certain species of diatoms, auxospores are specialised cells that are produced at key stages in their cell cycle or life history. Auxospores typically play a role in growth processes, sexual reproduction or dormancy.

    Auxospores are involved in re-establishing the normal size in diatoms because successive mitotic cell divisions leads to a decrease in cell size. This occurs because each daughter cell produced by cell division inherits one of the two valves that make up the frustule (a silica cell wall), and then grows a smaller valve within it. Consequently, each division cycle decreases the average size of diatom cells in a population. When its size becomes too small, a dividing diatom cell produces an auxospore to expand its cell size back to that which is normal for vegetative cells.

    Source: Wikipedia (All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License and Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.)

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