Find out more about our ambitious upgrade project, delivering more brightness, more coherence, and greater speed of analysis to UK science. More about Diamond-II
Find out more about Diamond's response to virus research.
As we celebrate the 155th anniversary of the periodic table this March, we mark the milestone during British Science Week 2024 by shedding light on the chemical building blocks of an amazing sea creature.
The light generated by Diamond Light Source is one of the most powerful in the world, able to detail almost all the elements on the periodic table at a molecular level. And a recent discovery about tiny organisms means big news for biogeochemists.
The ability to see the elemental composition of microorganisms is only possible with the brilliant X-ray light available at synchrotrons like Diamond. When the elements were classified 155 years ago, with creation of the periodic table, it would have been impossible to imagine today’s groundbreaking technology. Being able to pinpoint the location of almost any element means scientists can discover things like the miniscule stripes of calcium and strontium on a sea-dwelling organism.
And why is this level of detail important? By working at this atomic scale, learning how even the tiniest creature are formed, scientists can translate this knowledge to bigger things, like better medicines, cures for viruses, and advanced engineering possibilities.
In a paper from the Environmental Science: Processes and Impacts of the Royal Society of Chemistry, users from Diamond Light Source, University of Sheffield and the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA) at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona studied marine algae on our I14 beamline. This study was part of a year in industry student project.
With the high-resolution X-ray techniques, the scientists have learnt some interesting details about coccolithophores, which is a type of marine plankton.
These organisms create their own outer shells called coccoliths, which are made up of calcium carbonate (the same material as chalk) as well as some other minor elements like strontium. The researchers created a high-resolution 3D image of the surprisingly stripy chemical makeup of these structures leading to new findings about how they are formed.
This single-celled algae can be found in the sunlight zone of the ocean. They use chlorophyll to capture the sunlight and use photosynthesis to turn it into energy. This means they consume carbon dioxide and release oxygen.
Coccolithophores are ecologically important and hugely contribute to the marine biological pump, the mechanism that takes carbon away from the atmosphere and the land, transporting it to the ocean interior and seafloor sediments.
Coccolithophores are the most productive calcifying organisms on the planet; they are an example of intracellular biomineralisation. Broadly, this means they create their own hard tissue, like scales, bones and shells. This is called calcite, or calcium carbonate, which give the organisms essentially a type of armour.
In coccolithophores, this hard tissue forms as individual plates that together create a hard outer shell that protects the microscopic organisms. These plates are called coccoliths and look different for different species. The species in this example makes coccoliths of two distinct shapes, a flat one, and one that looks like a barrel.
The armoured calcite plates play a crucial role in the resilient coccolithophores, ensuring their survival in a harsh underwater environment. The scientists were able to map how coccoliths grow, showing how one element is added in stripes, whilst another (calcium) is constant.
Calcium and strontium often occur together in biominerals. How the strontium is distributed is helpful to understand more about how the coccoliths (calcite plates) have grown. The barrel type of coccolith is made up of an unusually high strontium to calcium ratio, compared to other species. Strontium is an alkaline earth metal, the 15th most abundant element on the Earth. It shares properties with calcium, its neighbour on the periodic table, and together they create the calcite coccolith shells.
Coccoliths are remarkably elaborate structures, which despite their microscopic size, are the result of a complex cellular process. However, their purpose is unclear. Their armour plates might be to defend against grazing zooplankton or to prevent infection by bacteria or viruses. There is also the idea that the plates help the microorganism to stay buoyant or to help filter light for photosynthesis.
The stripy image generated by the I14 beamline showed calcium in red and strontium in green (see figure to left). This interesting result goes against the previous findings that the calcium and strontium were evenly distributed. The discovery of the stripy distribution of strontium helps scientists understand how biomineralisation takes place. Furthermore, due to the fascinating structure of the plates, coccoliths can provide inspiration for synthetic materials design and further the understanding of crystallisation more generally.
Diamond science for schools
The subject of the study is of particular interest to KS3 students, who are introduced to the classifications of organisms, and their significance to natural biologists. The topic of photosynthesis is also covered in KS3, including topics related to plants, ecosystems, and biological processes. The research team studied a type of phytoplankton called coccolithophores and used imaging techniques to look at their shells. Coccolithophores are from the kingdom Protoctista, which is comprised of organisms that are not animals, plants, or fungi, but “eukaryotic organisms”. This particular kingdom is made up of very diverse organisms, and advancements in imaging technologies – like those used in this study – are helping to change and improve classification of these organisms… and more!
The kingdoms at schools
At KS3, science teachers will introduce their pupils to the concept of classifications of organisms. Usually using the Linnaean system of classification, students will learn about the five kingdoms of organisms. However, the Linnaean system was developed over 200 years ago, and what was “observable” to science has changed a lot since then. The “light” that Diamond generates is 10 billion times brighter than the sun, which allows incredible detail to be seen in the samples.
Learning about photosynthesis
Students aged 11 to 14 learn about the reactants and products of photosynthesis, as well as the dependence of almost all life on Earth on the ability of photosynthetic organisms to produce energy from sunlight.
Understanding photosynthesis helps pupils appreciate the vital role plants play in our environment and sustenance.
You can see I14 scientist Jess Walker in action describing the process with the help of Science Ceilidh – photosynthesis explained with Scottish country dancers!
Diamond works very closely with teachers, schools and students to bring young scientists closer to research like this every day. With a programme of Open Days and other events, a Work Experience programme. If you are interested in learning more about education opportunities at Diamond, contact [email protected]
Diamond Light Source is the UK's national synchrotron science facility, located at the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus in Oxfordshire.
Copyright © 2022 Diamond Light Source
Diamond Light Source Ltd
Diamond House
Harwell Science & Innovation Campus
Didcot
Oxfordshire
OX11 0DE
Diamond Light Source® and the Diamond logo are registered trademarks of Diamond Light Source Ltd
Registered in England and Wales at Diamond House, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, Oxfordshire, OX11 0DE, United Kingdom. Company number: 4375679. VAT number: 287 461 957. Economic Operators Registration and Identification (EORI) number: GB287461957003.
A brighter light for science
