Biogenic silica accumulation in picoeukaryotes : Novel players in the marine silica cycle
It is well known that the biological control of oceanic silica cycling is dominated by diatoms, with sponges and radiolarians playing additional roles. Recent studies have revealed that some smaller marine organisms (e.g. the picocyanobacterium Synechococcus) also take up silicic acid (dissolved silica, dSi) and accumulate silica, despite not exhibiting silicon dependent cellular structures. Here,
