Structural color in Myxomycetes

Inchaussandague, Marina E.; Skigin, Diana C.; Carmarán, Cecilia Cristina; Rosenfeldt, Sonia

doi:10.1364/oe.18.016055

Cited by 12 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…As previously observed in [14], the peridium is a transparent film, and it is the responsible of the color effect exhibited by this species, as already reported in [15]. A simple model explained that the observed color is the result of interference within a thin film (the peridium), which has non-uniform thickness.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 72%

“…Since there are no specific values of the refraction index of the Diachea leucopoda peridium available in the literature, its variation range was chosen according to the existing reports on refraction indices of materials comprising natural microstructures [3], as already done in [15]. The grey levels in the M bitmap represent the mass distribution within the array, which should be assigned using an adequate linear conversion function.…”

Section: Photonic Simulation Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Rostaf. In a recent paper, we demonstrated that the multicolored pointillistic effect, characteristic of the Diachea leucopoda, is of structural origin, and it is produced by light interference within the peridium [15]. The color in Myxomycetes has been investigated due to its use as a tax-onomical tool [12][13][14].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…is characterized by a cylindrical stalked fruiting body (sporangia), with a thin, corrugated, external layer (peridium), that covers the mass of spores [11]. In [15], the peridium was modelled as a planar film of a homogeneous transparent material, and it was shown that the observed color depends on the layer's thickness and on the refraction index of the material. Previous studies on Diachea individuals reported that certain species exhibit beautiful bronze and/or blue iridescent colors, whereas others do not display any optical effect [14].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Photonic simulation method applied to the study of structural color in Myxomycetes

Dolinko¹,

Skigin²,

Inchaussandague³

et al. 2012

Opt. Express

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We present a novel simulation method to investigate the multicolored effect of the Diachea leucopoda (Physarales order, Myxomycetes class), which is a microorganism that has a characteristic pointillistic iridescent appearance. It was shown that this appearance is of structural origin, and is produced within the peridium -protective layer that encloses the mass of spores-, which is basically a corrugated sheet of a transparent material. The main characteristics of the observed color were explained in terms of interference effects using a simple model of homogeneous planar slab. In this paper we apply a novel simulation method to investigate the electromagnetic response of such structure in more detail, i.e., taking into account the inhomogeneities of the biological material within the peridium and its curvature. We show that both features, which could not be considered within the simplified model, affect the observed color. The proposed method is of great potential for the study of biological structures, which present a high degree of complexity in the geometrical shapes as well as in the materials involved.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 72%

Section: Photonic Simulation Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Photonic simulation method applied to the study of structural color in Myxomycetes

Dolinko¹,

Skigin²,

Inchaussandague³

et al. 2012

Opt. Express

Self Cite

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“…[ 1 ] Different organisms exploit a variety of nanostructures and materials which, often combined with underlying pigmentation, can produce a wide range of complex optical effects, [ 2,3 ] ranging from metallic and iridescent colors [ 4,5 ] to bright whites. [ 6 ] In nature, structural color occurs in the marine and terrestrial environments in organisms across the tree of life, including birds, [7][8][9] insects, [10][11][12][13][14] land plants [ 15,16 ] (e.g., in the leaves, [ 17,18 ] fl owers [19][20][21] and fruit [ 22,23 ] ), bacteria, [ 24 ] fungi, [ 25 ] slime molds, [ 26 ] viruses, [ 27 ] diatoms [ 28 ] and macroalgae. [ 29 ] The biological signifi cance of structural color is mainly studied and understood in insects [ 30,31 ] and other animals [ 32,33 ] in terms of intra-and inter-specifi c communication, [ 34 ] The copyright line of this paper was changed 7 March 2017 after initial publication.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Structural Color in Marine Algae

Chandler

Wilts

Brodie

et al. 2016

Advanced Optical Materials

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mate attraction [ 35 ] and predator deterrents. [ 33,[36][37][38] In fl owers, structural color is hypothesized to function in relation to attracting potential pollinators. [ 20 ] However, in organisms such as algae the function of structural color remains unclear.Marine macroalgae (red, brown and green seaweeds) represent a large, diverse group of organisms within the marine kingdom. To date, around 11,000 species of marine algae have been described, however it is suggested that around 10,000 species are still undescribed (Mike Guiry pers. comm.; see further in ref. [ 39 ] ). Red (Rhodophyta) and green (Chlorophyta) algae originated from the primary endosymbiosis of cyanobacteria around 1500 Mya. [ 40 ] In comparison, the divergence of the brown algae (Phaeophyceae), as a consequence of secondary endosymbiosis, occurred relatively recently, at around 200 Mya ( Figure 1 ). [ 41 ] Marine algae play a major role in the functionality of coastal ecosystems, [ 42 ] provide a signifi cant contribution towards global carbon fi xation, [ 43 ] contribute to stable food sources, [ 44 ] and are employed in various health [ 45 ] and medicinal [ 46 ] products. Considering the global importance of marine algae and the current declines that many populations face as a result of environmental degradation, [47][48][49] understanding their structural color may reveal adaptation strategies useful in relation to global environmental change. For example, similarly to leaves, [ 50,51 ] structural color in algae may serve to protect species from ultraviolet radiation which may be benefi cial considering continual ozone damage. Assuming this hypothesis, structural color may be useful in predicting marine species composition in the future.Despite the lack of understanding on the biological purpose of structural color, marine algae have received very little attention within this fi eld, most likely as their colors do not function for a communicative purpose. [ 32 ] Subsequently, only a few studies have attempted to work on and identify the mechanisms responsible for producing structural color and they have mainly focused on the red algae (Rhodophyta), where intracellular [ 52 ] and extracellular [ 29 ] structures have been observed. For example, in the red alga, Chondrus crispus Stackhouse [ 53 ] (Rhodophyta), it has been shown that structural color is produced by a multilayered structure in the cuticle with refractive-index periodicity. [ 29 ] Furthermore, virtually no studies have attempted to investigate the vivid and diverse array of structural color patterns found within the brown algae (Phaeophyceae). It has been suggested that intracellular quasi-ordered spherical inclusions in the epidermal cells termed 'iridescent bodies' are responsible for the observed structural color, [ 54 ] however there is no clear experimental evidence that correlates these bodies with the optical appearance.In this progress report, we describe the mechanisms of color production in marine algae and compare them to those Structural coloration is widespread ...

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Nanostructures for Coloration (Organisms Other Than Animals)

Gebeshuber

Lee

2015

Encyclopedia of Nanotechnology

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Structural color in Myxomycetes

Cited by 12 publications

References 15 publications

Photonic simulation method applied to the study of structural color in Myxomycetes

Photonic simulation method applied to the study of structural color in Myxomycetes

Structural Color in Marine Algae

Nanostructures for Coloration (Organisms Other Than Animals)

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