Diatoms

Algae are a very diverse group of simple, nucleated, plant-like aquatic organisms that are primary producers. Primary producers are able to utilize photosynthesis to create organic molecules from sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide. Ecologically vital, algae account for roughly half of photosynthetic production of organic material on earth in both freshwater and marine environments. Algae exist either as single cells or as multicellular organizations. Diatoms are microscopic, single-celled algae that have intricate glass-like outer cell walls partially composed of silicon. Different species of diatom can be identified based upon the structure of these walls. Many diatom species are planktonic, suspended in the water column moving at the mercy of water currents. Others remain attached to submerged surfaces. One bucketful of water may contain millions of diatoms. Their abundance makes them important food sources in aquatic ecosystems. When diatoms die, their cell walls are left behind and sink to the bottom of bodies of water. Massive accumulations of diatom-rich sediments compact and solidify over long periods of time to form rock rich in fossilized diatoms that is mined for use in abrasives and filters.

Diatoms belong to the taxonomic phylum Bacillariophyta. There are approximately 10,000 known diatom species. Of all algae phyla, diatom species are the most numerous. The diatoms are single-celled, eukaryotic organisms, having genetic information sequestered into sub-cellular compartments called nuclei. This characteristic distinguishes the group from other single-celled photosynthetic aquatic organisms, like the blue-green algae that do not possess nuclei and are more closely related to bacteria. Diatoms also are distinct because they secrete complex outer cell walls, sometimes called skeletons. The skeleton of a diatom is properly referred to as a frustule.

Diatom frustules are composed of very pure hydrated silica within a layer of organic, carbon containing material. Frustules are really comprised of two parts: an upper and lower frustule. The larger upper portion of the frustule is called the epitheca. The smaller lower piece is the hypotheca. The epitheca fits over the hypotheca like the lid fits over a shoe box. The singular algal diatom cell lives protected inside the frustule halves like a pair of shoes snuggled within a shoe box.

Frustules are very ornate, having intricate designs delineated by patterns of holes or pores. The pores that perforate the frustules allow gases, nutrients, and metabolic waste products to be exchanged between the watery environment and the algal cell. The frustules themselves may exhibit bilateral symmetry or radial symmetry. Bilaterally symmetric diatoms are like human beings, having a single plane through which halves are mirror images of one another. Bilaterally symmetric diatoms are elongated. Radially symmetric diatom frustules have many mirror image planes. No matter which diameter is used to divide the cell into two halves, each half is a mirror image of the other. For example, apple pie is radially symmetric. No matter which diameter one chooses in slicing the pie into halves, each half is the mirror image of the other. Similarly, radially symmetric diatoms are round and flattened, like apple pies. The combination of symmetry and perforation patterns of diatom frustules make them very beautiful biological structures that also are useful in identifying different species. Because they are composed of silica, a very inert material, diatom frustules remain well preserved over vast periods of time within geologic sediments.

Diatom frustules found in sedimentary rock are microfossils. Because they are so easily preserved, diatoms have an extensive fossil record. Specimens of diatom algae extend back to the Cretaceous Period, over 135 million years ago. Some kinds of rock are formed nearly entirely of fossilized diatom frustules. Considering the fact that they are microscopic organisms, the sheer numbers of diatoms required to produce rock of any thickness is staggering. Rock that has rich concentrations of diatom fossils is known as diatomaceous earth, or diatomite. Diatomaceous earth, existing today as large deposits of chalky white material, is mined for commercial use in abrasives and in filters. The fine abrasive quality of diatomite is useful in cleansers, like bathtub scrubbing powder. Also, many toothpaste products contain fossil diatoms. The fine porosity of frustules also makes refined diatomaceous earth useful in fine water filters, acting like microscopic sieves that catch very tiny particles suspended in solution.

Fossilized diatom collections also tell scientists a lot about the environmental conditions of past eras. It is known that diatom deposits can occur in layers that correspond to environmental cycles. Certain conditions favor mass deaths of diatoms. Over many years, changes in diatom deposition rates in sediments, then, are preserved as diatomite, providing clues about prehistoric climates.

Diatom cells within frustules contain chloroplasts, the organelles in which photosynthesis occurs. Chloroplasts contain chlorophyll, the pigment molecule that allows plants and other photosynthetic organisms to capture solar energy and convert it into usable chemical energy in the form of simple sugars. Because of this, and because they are extremely abundant occupants of freshwater and saltwater habitats, diatoms are among the most important microorganisms on Earth. Some estimates calculate diatoms as contributing 20-25% of all carbon fixation on Earth. Carbon fixation is a term describing the photosynthetic process of removing atmospheric carbon in the form of carbon dioxide and converting it to organic carbon in the form of sugar. Due to this, diatoms are essential components of aquatic food chains. They are a major food source for many microorganisms, aquatic animal larvae, and grazing animals like mollusks (snails). Diatoms are even found living on land. Some species can be found in moist soil or on mosses. Contributing to the abundance of diatoms is their primary mode of reproduction, simple asexual cell division. Diatoms divide asexually by mitosis. During division, diatoms construct new frustule cell walls. After a cell divides, the epitheca and hypotheca separate, one remaining with each new daughter cell. The two cells then produce a new hypotheca. Diatoms do reproduce sexually, but not with the same frequency.