The Molecular Life of Diatoms

Diatoms are the most species rich group of algae, and they contribute about 20% of annual global carbon fixation. They play major roles in ocean food webs and global biogeochemical cycles. They are also a target of the biotechnology industry because of their nano-patterned silica cell wall and high lipid content. Diatoms have received increasing attention as more genomes became available and because of the development of genome editing tools such as the CRISPR/Cas9 technology, which has mad...