Scientists uncover secret to resilient planktonic shells

Biomaterials with extraordinary properties, such as spider silk, have so far been known primarily from animals. Researchers at the University of Salzburg in Austria have now deciphered a surprising counterpart from the world of single-celled organisms: The shells of tintinnids, microscopic planktonic organisms, consist of self-assembling structural proteins that form a particularly resilient material and are capable of absorbing UV light. This is the first description of a biomaterial produced by a eukaryotic single-celled organism (protist), establishing tintinnids as a new model system for the future development of advanced biomaterials. More than 200 years after the discovery of tintinnids, the composition of their shells has finally been deciphered.