Metabolic Engineering Strategies in Diatoms Reveal Unique Phenotypes and Genetic Configurations With Implications for Algal Genetics and Synthetic Biology.

ABSTRACT: Diatoms are photosynthetic microeukaryotes that dominate phytoplankton populations and have increasing applicability in biotechnology. Uncovering their complex biology and elevating strains to commercial standards depends heavily on robust genetic engineering tools. However, engineering microalgal genomes predominantly relies on random integration of transgenes into nuclear DNA, often resulting in detrimental "position-effects" such as transgene silencing, integration into transcriptionally-inactive regions, and endogenous sequence disruption. With the recent development of extrachromosomal transgene expression via independent episomes, it is timely to investigate both strategies at the phenotypic and genomic level. Here, we engineered the model diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum to p

SUBMITTER: George J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7290003 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature