Silicon biotechnology: harnessing biological silica production to construct new materials

Silicon, the basis of semiconductors and many advanced materials, is an essential element for higher plants and animals, yet its biology is poorly understood. Many invertebrates produce exquisitely controlled silica structures with a nanoscale precision exceeding present human ability. Biotechnology is starting to reveal the proteins, genes and molecular mechanisms that control this synthesis in marine organisms that produce large amounts of silica; Discovering the mechanisms governing biosilicification offers the prospect of developing environmentally benign routes to synthesize new silicon-based materials and to resolve the biological use of silicon in higher organisms.