Ice gliding diatoms establish record-low temperature limits for motility in a eukaryotic cell.

ABSTRACT: Despite periods of permanent darkness and extensive ice coverage in polar environments, photosynthetic ice diatoms display a remarkable capability of living inside the ice matrix. How these organisms navigate such hostile conditions with limited light and extreme cold remains unknown. Using a custom subzero temperature microscope during an Arctic expedition, we present the finding of motility at record-low temperatures in a Eukaryotic cell. By characterizing the gliding motility of several ice diatom species, collected from ice cores in the Chukchi Sea, we record that they retain motility at temperatures as low as [Formula: see text]15 ^°C. Remarkably, ice diatoms can glide on ice substrates, a capability absent in temperate diatoms of the same genus. This unique ability arises f

SUBMITTER: Zhang Q 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12452890 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature