{"database":"GEO","file_versions":[{"headers":{"Content-Type":["application/json"]},"body":{"files":{"Other":["ftp://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/series/GSE303nnn/GSE303315/"]},"type":"primary"},"statusCodeValue":200,"statusCode":"OK"}],"scores":null,"additional":{"omics_type":["Transcriptomics"],"species":["Cylindrotheca closterium"],"gds_type":["Expression profiling by high throughput sequencing"],"full_dataset_link":["https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/query/acc.cgi?acc=GSE303315"],"repository":["GEO"],"entry_type":["GSE"],"additional_accession":[]},"is_claimable":false,"name":"A single-cell atlas exposes the transcriptional complexity of algal life cycle transitions","description":"Microalgae produce around half of Earth’s oxygen, yet are often considered simple, undifferentiated cells that are at the mercy of their environment. Here, we challenge this view by demonstrating that diatoms, the most species-rich eukaryotic algae, rival multicellular organisms in terms of their life cycle complexity. A single-cell atlas of 8,674 high-quality transcriptomes, enriched with extensive experimental data, uncovered unique mechanisms for meiotic regulation and sex determination and revealed a universal regulatory logic that drives the critical transition from vegetative to reproductive growth, both in cultured and environmental diatom species. Finally, we introduce a molecular model of the remarkable 15-fold expansion of auxospores, supported by reporter lines as developmental timekeepers. Altogether, our work reframes microalgae as attractive models to study eukaryotic life cycles.","dates":{"publication":"2026/03/23"},"accession":"GSE303315","cross_references":{"GSM":["GSM9123250","GSM9123251","GSM9123252"],"GPL":["36056"],"GSE":["303315"],"taxon":["Cylindrotheca closterium"]}}