It was found in an biofilm in a coastal ecosystem off the coast of Hawaii. Thank you in advance!
Jessica:
Does not look like Diatom, but it is nevertheless interesting. Attempt EDX to first determine elemental composition.
Best
Syed
I talked this over with another researcher and we both agree with Syed that they are not diatoms. They don't have the organization (striation)and do not appear as brittle as diatoms usually are under SEM. Let me know if you'd like to contact the other biofilms researcher I consulted, may be worth conferring with them (I'd rather not put it on a public forum).
Thanks Syed and Lydia for the insight. Lydia, I'll follow up with you offline.
Definitely does not look like a diatom. A quick way to check if unsure is to dissolve away the organic material using HCl and KMnO4 which will leave only the silica frustules of diatoms, then you can look under light microscope or SEM to see if the unknown organism remains. If not, then its not a diatom.
Wow thanks for the responses! Im uploading another picture in case anyone is interested. I have fixed sampled in a frig. Steven, i'll try your suggestion.
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