Yeast in a shell: Coating individual living yeast cells with silicon dioxide

(PhysOrg.com) -- Our breakfast egg is a peculiarity of nature: a single cell protected by a thin mineral layer. Apart from a number of tiny radiolaria and diatoms, individual cells normally do not have a hard shell. Korean researchers have now developed a strategy for equipping individual cells of baker`s yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, with a synthetic shell made of silicon dioxide. As the team led by Insung S. Choi reports in the journal Angewandte Chemie, the lifespan of these coated yeast cells is tripled, whilst their division is suppressed. The shell also protects the cells from unfavorable external conditions.

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