''Thalassiosira pseudonana'' is a species of marine centric

diatom A diatom ( Neo-Latin ''diatoma''), "a cutting through, a severance", from el, διάτομος, diátomos, "cut in half, divided equally" from el, διατέμνω, diatémno, "to cut in twain". is any member of a large group comprising se ...

s. It was chosen as the first

eukaryotic Eukaryotes () are organisms whose cells have a nucleus. All animals, plants, fungi, and many unicellular organisms, are Eukaryotes. They belong to the group of organisms Eukaryota or Eukarya, which is one of the three domains of life. Bacte ...

marine

phytoplankton Phytoplankton () are the autotrophic (self-feeding) components of the plankton community and a key part of ocean and freshwater ecosystems. The name comes from the Greek words (), meaning 'plant', and (), meaning 'wanderer' or 'drifter'. ...

for whole

genome sequencing Whole genome sequencing (WGS), also known as full genome sequencing, complete genome sequencing, or entire genome sequencing, is the process of determining the entirety, or nearly the entirety, of the DNA sequence of an organism's genome at a ...

. ''T. pseudonana'' was selected for this study because it is a model for diatom physiology studies, belongs to a genus widely distributed throughout the world's oceans, and has a relatively small genome at 34 mega

base pair A base pair (bp) is a fundamental unit of double-stranded nucleic acids consisting of two nucleobases bound to each other by hydrogen bonds. They form the building blocks of the DNA double helix and contribute to the folded structure of both D ...

s. Scientists are researching on diatom light absorption, using the marine diatom of Thalassiosira. The diatom requires a high enough concentration of CO₂ in order to utilize C₄ metabolism (Clement ''et al.'' 2015). The clone of ''T. pseudonana'' that was sequenced is CCMP 1335 and is available from the

National Center for Marine Algae and Microbiota National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ...

Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, founded in 1974, is an independent, non-profit oceanography research institute. The Laboratory's research ranges from microbial oceanography to the large-scale biogeochemical processes that drive ocean eco ...

. This clone was originally collected in 1958 from

Moriches Bay Moriches Bay ( ) is a lagoon system on the south shore of Long Island, New York. The name Moriches comes from Meritces, a Native American who owned land on Moriches Neck. Two townships in Suffolk, New York ( Brookhaven and the Southampton) share ...

(

Long Island, New York Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United States and the 18t ...

) and has been maintained continuously in

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...

Symbiosis

''Thalassiosira pseudonana'' and the heterotrophic

alphaproteobacterium Alphaproteobacteria is a class of bacteria in the phylum Pseudomonadota (formerly Proteobacteria). The Magnetococcales and Mariprofundales are considered basal or sister to the Alphaproteobacteria. The Alphaproteobacteria are highly diverse an ...

Ruegeria pomeroyi ''Ruegeria pomeroyi'' is a species of Gram-negative, rod-shaped, aerobic dimethylsulfoniopropionate- demethylating bacterium. Its type strain is DSS-3T (=ATCC 700808T =DSM 15171T). Its genome has been sequenced. Discovery ''Ruegeria pomeroyi ...

'' form a chemical

symbiosis Symbiosis (from Greek , , "living together", from , , "together", and , bíōsis, "living") is any type of a close and long-term biological interaction between two different biological organisms, be it mutualistic, commensalistic, or para ...

in coculture. The bacteria provide

vitamin B12 Vitamin B12, also known as cobalamin, is a water-soluble vitamin involved in metabolism. It is one of eight B vitamins. It is required by animals, which use it as a cofactor in DNA synthesis, in both fatty acid and amino acid metabolism. ...

to the diatoms, which in exchange provide organic nutrients to the bacteria. In the presence of the diatom, the bacteria start producing a transporter for dihydroxypropanesulfonate (DHPS), a nutrient produced by the diatom for the bacteria.

Symbiosis

References

Further reading