Electrical activity in the dark

摘要

Diatoms generate about 20 percent of the oxygen produced on the plant each year and contribute nearly half of the organic material found in oceans. Yet how these tiny algae communicate has been shrouded in mystery. Now a group of scientists discovered that diatoms become electrically active when the light goes out. "Under stress, such as light deprivation and probably temperature rise, diatoms start releasing Ca2+ ions to communicate. It is a cell to cell signalling technique," says Dr Dago de Leeuw (Faculty of Aerospace Engineering), one of the authors of the study which was published in Scientific Reports. "The microorganisms let each other know that it is time to migrate closer to the surface or, to the contrary, dive deeper in the water to obtain optimal light and temperature conditions." For the very first time - according to De Leeuw - collective electrical oscillations of diatoms have been measured.