Light-induced dynamic structural color by intracellular 3D photonic crystals in brown algae

Martin Lopez-Garcia; Nathan Masters; Heath E. O'Brien; Joseph Lennon; George Atkinson; Martin J. Cryan; Ruth Oulton; Heather M. Whitney

doi:10.1126/sciadv.aan8917

Light-induced dynamic structural color by intracellular 3D photonic crystals in brown algae

Martin Lopez-Garcia, Nathan Masters, Heath E. O'Brien, Joseph Lennon, George Atkinson, Martin J. Cryan, Ruth Oulton, Heather M. Whitney^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article (Academic Journal)

19 Citations (Scopus)

236 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Natural photonic crystals are responsible for strong reflectance at selective wavelengths in different natural systems. We demonstrate that intracellular opal-like photonic crystals formed from lipids within photosynthetic cells produce vivid structural color in the alga Cystoseira tamariscifolia. The reflectance of the opaline vesicles is dynamically responsive to environmental illumination. The structural color is present in low light–adapted samples, whereas higher light levels produce a slow disappearance of the structural color such that it eventually vanishes completely. Once returned to low-light conditions, the color re-emerges. Our results suggest that these complex intracellular natural photonic crystals are responsive to environmental conditions, changing their packing structure reversibly, and have the potential to manipulate light for roles beyond visual signaling.

Original language	English
Article number	eaan8917
Number of pages	9
Journal	Science Advances
Volume	4
Issue number	4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aan8917
Publication status	Published - 4 Apr 2018

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Projects

1 Finished

NUCLEAR NANOMAGNETS FOR QUANTUM OPTICAL SPIN DEVICES

Oulton, R.

29/09/08 → 29/03/14

Project: Research

Equipment

Wolfson Bioimaging Facility

Mark Jepson (Manager)

Faculty of Life Sciences

Facility/equipment: Facility

Cite this

Lopez-Garcia, M., Masters, N., O'Brien, H. E., Lennon, J., Atkinson, G., Cryan, M. J., Oulton, R., & Whitney, H. M. (2018). Light-induced dynamic structural color by intracellular 3D photonic crystals in brown algae. Science Advances, 4(4), [eaan8917]. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aan8917

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AU - O'Brien, Heath E.

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AU - Atkinson, George

AU - Cryan, Martin J.

AU - Oulton, Ruth

AU - Whitney, Heather M.

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AB - Natural photonic crystals are responsible for strong reflectance at selective wavelengths in different natural systems. We demonstrate that intracellular opal-like photonic crystals formed from lipids within photosynthetic cells produce vivid structural color in the alga Cystoseira tamariscifolia. The reflectance of the opaline vesicles is dynamically responsive to environmental illumination. The structural color is present in low light–adapted samples, whereas higher light levels produce a slow disappearance of the structural color such that it eventually vanishes completely. Once returned to low-light conditions, the color re-emerges. Our results suggest that these complex intracellular natural photonic crystals are responsive to environmental conditions, changing their packing structure reversibly, and have the potential to manipulate light for roles beyond visual signaling.

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