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Science 18 October 2002:
Vol. 298. no. 5593, p. 547
DOI: 10.1126/science.1078222
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Perspectives

BIOMINERALIZATION:
The Diatom Glasshouse

Richard Wetherbee

Diatoms are unicellular microalgae with intricate walls made from silica. In his Perspective, Wetherbee explains how these patterned walls are constructed. He highlights the report by Kröger et al., who show that key molecules in the silicification process, called silaffins, are highly phosphorylated in their native state. The silaffins nucleate and precipitate silica; other molecules must be responsible for the fine patterning but remain as yet unidentified.

The author is at the School of Botany, University of Melbourne, Parkville 3010, Victoria, Australia. E-mail: richardw{at}unimelb.edu.au

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)