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Silicanin-1 is a conserved diatom membrane protein involved in silica biomineralization

Overview of attention for article published in BMC Biology, July 2017
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Title
Silicanin-1 is a conserved diatom membrane protein involved in silica biomineralization
Published in
BMC Biology, July 2017
DOI 10.1186/s12915-017-0400-8
Pubmed ID
Authors

Alexander Kotzsch, Philip Gröger, Damian Pawolski, Paul H. H. Bomans, Nico A. J. M. Sommerdijk, Michael Schlierf, Nils Kröger

Abstract

Biological mineral formation (biomineralization) proceeds in specialized compartments often bounded by a lipid bilayer membrane. Currently, the role of membranes in biomineralization is hardly understood. Investigating biomineralization of SiO2 (silica) in diatoms we identified Silicanin-1 (Sin1) as a conserved diatom membrane protein present in silica deposition vesicles (SDVs) of Thalassiosira pseudonana. Fluorescence microscopy of GFP-tagged Sin1 enabled, for the first time, to follow the intracellular locations of a biomineralization protein during silica biogenesis in vivo. The analysis revealed incorporation of the N-terminal domain of Sin1 into the biosilica via association with the organic matrix inside the SDVs. In vitro experiments showed that the recombinant N-terminal domain of Sin1 undergoes pH-triggered assembly into large clusters, and promotes silica formation by synergistic interaction with long-chain polyamines. Sin1 is the first identified SDV transmembrane protein, and is highly conserved throughout the diatom realm, which suggests a fundamental role in the biomineralization of diatom silica. Through interaction with long-chain polyamines, Sin1 could serve as a molecular link by which the SDV membrane exerts control on the assembly of biosilica-forming organic matrices in the SDV lumen.

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The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 93 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.

Geographical breakdown

Country Count As %
Unknown 93 100%

Demographic breakdown

Readers by professional status Count As %
Student > Master 19 20%
Researcher 16 17%
Student > Ph. D. Student 14 15%
Student > Bachelor 9 10%
Professor > Associate Professor 3 3%
Other 9 10%
Unknown 23 25%
Readers by discipline Count As %
Agricultural and Biological Sciences 21 23%
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology 19 20%
Chemistry 9 10%
Materials Science 5 5%
Earth and Planetary Sciences 5 5%
Other 9 10%
Unknown 25 27%