During evolution silica deposition has been used in Protozoa, Metazoa and in plants as skeletal elements. It appears that the mechanisms for the formation of biogenic silica have evolved independently in these three taxa. In Protozoa and plants biosilicification appears to be primarily driven by non-enzymatic processes and procedes on organic matrices. In contrast, in sponges (phylum Porifera) this process is mediated by enzymes; the initiation of this process is likewise dependent on organic matrices.
In this monograph the role of biosilica as stabilizing structures in different organisms is reviewed and their role for morphogenetic processes is outlined. It provides an up-to-date summary of the mechanisms by which polymeric biosilica is formed. The volume is intended for biologists, biochemists and molecular biologists, involved in the understanding of structure formation in living organisms and will also be very useful for scientists working in the field of applied Nanotechnology and Nanobiotechnology.
Author(s): Franz Brümmer (auth.), Professor Dr. Werner E. G. Müller (eds.)
Series: Progress in Molecular and Subcellular Biology 33
Edition: 1
Publisher: Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
Year: 2003
Language: English
Pages: 340
Tags: Biochemistry, general; Biotechnology; Freshwater & Marine Ecology
Front Matter....Pages I-XIII
Front Matter....Pages 1-1
Living Inside a Glass Box — Silica in Diatoms....Pages 3-10
Components and Control of Silicification in Diatoms....Pages 11-57
The Phylogeny of the Diatoms....Pages 59-97
Silicon — a Central Metabolite for Diatom Growth and Morphogenesis....Pages 99-124
Front Matter....Pages 125-125
Functions of Silicon in Higher Plants....Pages 127-147
Silicon in Plants....Pages 149-160
Front Matter....Pages 161-161
Silica Deposition in Demosponges....Pages 163-193
Molecular Mechanism of Spicule Formation in the Demosponge Suberites domuncula : Silicatein-Collagen-Myotrophin....Pages 195-221
Front Matter....Pages 223-223
Biotechnological Advances in Biosilicification....Pages 225-247
Silicase, an Enzyme Which Degrades Biogenous Amorphous Silica: Contribution to the Metabolism of Silica Deposition in the Demosponge Suberites domuncula ....Pages 249-268
Studies of Biosilicas; Structural Aspects, ChemicalPrinciples,Model Studies and the Future....Pages 269-299
Silicon Biomineralisation: Towards Mimicking Biogenic Silica Formation in Diatoms....Pages 301-334
Back Matter....Pages 335-340
