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Role of Silicon in Diatom Metabolism
Author(s) -
MEHARD CHARLES W.,
SULLIVAN C. W.,
AZAM FAROOQ,
VOLCANI B. E.
Publication year - 1974
Publication title -
physiologia plantarum
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.351
H-Index - 146
eISSN - 1399-3054
pISSN - 0031-9317
DOI - 10.1111/j.1399-3054.1974.tb03654.x
Subject(s) - organelle , silicic acid , chloroplast , vesicle , diatom , differential centrifugation , mitochondrion , biology , cytoplasm , centrifugation , biochemistry , cell wall , cell fractionation , biophysics , microbiology and biotechnology , chemistry , botany , membrane , organic chemistry , gene
Abstract The in vivo uptake of 31 Si‐silicic acid and 68 Ge‐germanic acid by cell organelles of Nitzschia alba Lewin and Lewin and Cylindrotheca fusiformis Reimann and Lewin was demonstrated. The organelles were isolated by fractionation of pre‐labeled cells by differential centrifugation in 0.4 M sucrose medium. Electron micrographs showed that the isolated organelles were intact, with the exception of the N. alba mitochondria which appeared swollen and the C. fusiformis chloroplasts which had ruptured outer membranes and lacked stroma material. The amount of 31 Si or 68 Ge per mg protein of the subcellular fractions decreased in the following general order for both organisms: cell wall, mitochondria, chloroplasts, vesicles, and microsomes. A portion of the 31 Si or 68 Ge in the organelle fractions could be extracted into a distilled water wash. The uptake of silicon by the organelles suggests that silicon may be involved in some processes of the compartmentalized systems of the cell.