Thalassiosira pseudonana (Cyclotella nana) (Hustedt) Hasle et Heimdal (Bacillariophyceae): A genetically tractable model organism for studying diatom biology, including biological silica formation

Abstract

In 2004, Thalassiosira pseudonana was the first eukaryotic marine alga to have its genome sequenced. Since then, this species has quickly emerged as a valuable model species for investigating the molecular underpinnings of essentially all aspects of diatom life, particularly bio‐morphogenesis of the cell wall. An important prerequisite for the model status of T. pseudonana is the ongoing development of increasingly precise tools to study the function of gene networks and their encoded proteins in vivo. Here, we briefly review the current toolbox for genetic manipulation, highlight specific examples of its application in studying diatom metabolism, and provide a peek into the role of diatoms in the emerging field of silica biotechnology.

Phaeodactylum tricornutum: An established model species for diatom molecular research and an emerging chassis for algal synthetic biology

“…Phaeodactylum tricornutum has proven highly successful in revealing fundamental aspects of diatom biology that are relevant to many species. Diatom research is now greatly benefitting from the establishment of new ecologically relevant model systems (Ferrante et al., 2023; Otte et al., 2023; Poulsen & Kröger, 2023). Without doubt, the fundamental and practical insights gained and still to come through the study of P. tricornutum will support comparative investigations, essential for addressing the significance of diatom diversity in the context of adaptation and evolution.…”

Some fall to sleep slowly: cell biophysics and metabolism of quiescence in diatom resting cells

“…By contrast, T. pseudonana does not experience such size reduction and has no obligate sexual phase, so can be propagated indefinitely in vegetative growth in the laboratory (the most popular laboratory strain, CCMP1335, has been in culture since 1958). Since becoming one of the first eukaryotes to have its full genome sequence published 20 years ago (Armbrust et al, 2004), T. pseudonana has become one of the preferred models for diatom molecular and cell biology, with an expanding and sophisticated toolbox for genetic manipulation (Poulsen & Kr€ oger, 2023).…”