engleski

Marine Ecology at Nanoscale: Supramolecular Organization of Marine Gel

The enigmatic gel phase appears episodically in the northern Adriatic Sea. The phenomenon manifests itself in rapid formation of enormous amounts of gelatinous matter in the water column and on the sea surface. The phenomenon has captivated the attention of many marine scientists, particularly over the last 15 years since the “ big” event of 1989 but the mechanism of gel formation remains unknown. We introduced AFM and image the supramolecular organization of marine gel phase for the first time. Gel structure exhibits a repeating network of solvent cavities (150-500 nm) between entangled rigid fibrils (mainly polysaccharides) with 0.6-3 nm in diameter. Our biophysical scenario of gel formation features self-organization of biopolymers into marine vesicles that transform to giant-gel by the first order phase transition. The giant gels function as efficient bioreactors to eliminate excess of photosynthesized material from the basin and restore normal populations in the microbial community. AFM as a technique provides a range of new opportunities for viewing and manipulating living and non-living marine specimens under ambient conditions. The area of application in marine sciences is yet unexplored.

marine gel; AFM; marine ecology; northern Adriatic Sea

nije evidentirano