Eshelby Twist as a Possible Source of Lattice Rotation in a Perfectly Ordered Protein/Silica Structure Grown by a Simple Organism.

The formation mechanism of a perfectly ordered protein/silica structure in the axial filament of the anchor spicule of the silica sponge Monorhaphis chuni is suggested. Experimental evidence shows that the growth of this architecture is realized by a thermodynamically driven dislocation-mediated spiral growth mechanism, resulting in a specific rotation of the mesoscopic crystal lattice (Eshelby twist).