An effect of osmotic pressure on the valve morphology of the diatom Skeletonema subsalsum (A. Cleve) Bethge

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Abstract
The valve morphology of the brackish-water plankton diatom Skeletonema subsalsum is dependent on salinity. In cells grown at salinities of 3‰ or less, the valve faces were flat and the connecting processes much reduced in length. Cells grown at salinities of 5‰ or higher had dome-shaped valves and extended connecting processes. The effect of an increase in salinity could be duplicated by the addition of sucrose to the growth medium. The growth rate was nearly independent of salinity in the range of 1–10‰. It was concluded that the osmotic pressure of the medium exerts a direct effect on cell-wall morphogenesis in S. subsalsum.