Dresden 2020 – scientific programme

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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 14: Focus: Phase Separation in Biological Systems II (joint session BP/CPP)

BP 14.7: Talk

Tuesday, March 17, 2020, 11:45–12:00, ZEU 250

Structure and development of patterned silica in the diatom frustule. — •Maria Feofilova and Eric Dufresne — ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

Diatoms are single-celled organisms, which make an amazing multi-scale silica structure called the frustule as their cell wall. While much is known about the biochemistry involved, currently it is not clear what is the physical mechanism by which the structure is achieved. One of the proposed models is templating by phase separation.

In this work, we observe both the developing structure in living cells and the completely formed structure in extracted frustules of the diatom Coscinodiscus granii. By characterizing the development of structural features over time, we hope to gain insight into the mechanism by which ordering of the structure occurs.