title: Settlement and cell division of diatom Navicula can be influenced by light of various qualities and intensities.
abstract: Diatom settlement and cell division is important in two major aspects. Firstly, biofouling is a costly problem in the shipping industry that necessitates the effective inhibition of diatom settlement and proliferation. Secondly, biological coatings on the basis of ordered and densely packed cell lawns of diatom are useful for nano- and biotechnology. This study demonstrated that the settlement and cell division of the marine unicellular diatom Navicula sp. can be influenced by light-emitting diodes of various light qualities and intensities. Except for blue light, the settlement of diatoms was reduced by weak (approx. 0.14-6 µE m(-2) s(-1)) green, yellow or red light. When the irradiance intensity, however, was higher than 8-9 µE m(-2) s(-1), the settlement was stimulated. This phenomenon could be explained by the hypothesis of spatial interference between a chloroplast and a holdfast-like structure. Densely packed lawn of diatoms with uniform distribution can be fabricated for nanotechnologies, using blue light that stimulates diatom cell division.
authors: State Key Laboratory of Tribology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, P.R., China.
authors: Shan
authors: S
authors: Cao
authors: Jiadao
authors: J
authors: Wang
authors: Darong
authors: D
authors: Chen
mesh_terms: D002448:Cell Adhesion / Q000528:radiation effects*; D002455:Cell Division / Q000528:radiation effects*; D017377:Diatoms / Q000502:physiology* / Q000528:radiation effects*; D008027:Light
keywords: Biofilms; Colored light; Marine diatoms; Navicula; Settlement