Lake Baikal is the oldest, deepest and most voluminous lake on Earth, comprising one fifth of the World’s unfrozen fresh water. It hosts the highest number of endemic animals recorded in any freshwater lake. Until recently it remained enigmatic why such a high diversity evolved in the isolated Lake Baikal. Focusing on the sponges (phylum Porifera) as an example, some answers are provided to fundamental questions on evolutionary forces. The characteristic feature of these animals is that they form their polymeric silicic acid skeleton enzymatically. This process is explored using modern molecular biological and cellular biological techniques to outline strategies to fabricate novel materials applicable in biomedicine and nanooptics.
Author(s): Dmitry Gladkochub, Tatiana Donskaya (auth.), Werner E. G. Müller, Mikhael A. Grachev (eds.)
Series: Progress in Molecular and Subcellular Biology 47
Edition: 1
Publisher: Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
Year: 2009
Language: English
Pages: 421
Tags: Freshwater & Marine Ecology; Microbial Ecology; Biotechnology; Biomaterials; Environmental Engineering/Biotechnology; Nanotechnology
Front Matter....Pages i-xxii
Overview of Geology and Tectonic Evolution of the Baikal-Tuva Area....Pages 3-26
Tectonics of the Baikal Rift Deduced from Volcanism and Sedimentation: A Review Oriented to the Baikal and Hovsgol Lake Systems....Pages 27-54
Paleoclimate and Evolution: Emergence of Sponges During the Neoproterozoic....Pages 55-77
Studies on the Taxonomy and Distribution of Freshwater Sponges in Lake Baikal....Pages 81-110
Towards a Molecular Systematics of the Lake Baikal/Lake Tuva Sponges....Pages 111-144
Symbiotic Interaction Between Dinoflagellates and the Demosponge Lubomirskia baicalensis : Aquaporin-Mediated Glycerol Transport....Pages 145-170
Silicon in Life: Whither Biological Silicification?....Pages 173-184
Fossil Sponge Fauna in Lake Baikal Region....Pages 185-205
Identification and Isolation of a Retrotransposon from the Freshwater Sponge Lubomirskia baicalensis : Implication in Rapid Evolution of Endemic Sponges....Pages 207-234
Modelling the Skeletal Architecture in a Sponge with Radiate Accretive Growth....Pages 237-247
Silicatein: Nanobiotechnological and Biomedical Applications....Pages 251-273
Role of Biosilica in Materials Science: Lessons from Siliceous Biological Systems for Structural Composites....Pages 277-294
An Overview of Silica in Biology: Its Chemistry and Recent Technological Advances....Pages 295-313
Optical and Nonlinear Optical Properties of Sea Glass Sponge Spicules....Pages 315-340
Nanobiotechnology: Soft Lithography....Pages 341-358
The Application of Silicon and Silicates in Dentistry: A Review....Pages 359-380
Sustainable Exploitation and Conservation of the Endemic Lake Baikal Sponge ( Lubomirskia baicalensis ) for Application in Nanobiotechnology....Pages 383-416
Back Matter....Pages 417-421
