Regensburg 2022 – scientific programme

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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 25: Bioinspired Systems

BP 25.2: Talk

Thursday, September 8, 2022, 11:15–11:30, H13

Frustrated frustules: geometrical frustration in Coscinodiscus diatom frustules — •Maria Feofilova and Eric Dufresne — Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 5, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland

Diatoms are single-celled organisms with a cell wall made of silica, called the frustule. Their elaborate patterns have fascinated scientists for years, however little is known about the biological and physical mechanisms involved in their organizations.

In this work, we take a top-down approach and examine the micron-scale organization of diatoms from the Coscinodiscus family. We find two competing tendencies of organization, which appear to be controlled by distinct biological pathways. On one hand, micron-scale pores organize locally on a triangular lattice. On the other, lattice vectors tend to point globally toward a center of symmetry. This competition results in a frustrated triangular lattice, populated with geometrically necessary defects whose density increases near the center.