Analysis on the factor influencing the diatom P. tricornutum

Aquaculture frequently uses the commercially significant species Phaeodactylum tricornutum. It could also be used as biofuel in the future.

However, one of the major obstacles to P. tricornutum large-scale cultivation has been contamination with algivorous microzooplankton. Therefore, developing a new strain resistant to grazing is crucial for combating zooplankton contamination.

A recent study from the Institute of Oceanology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IOCAS), under the direction of Prof. Guangce Wang, found that the high lipid content and grazing resistance of P. tricornutum are caused by the overexpression of the novel gene Pt2015.

On November 26^th, 2022, the study was published in Biotechnology for Biofuels and Bioproducts.

Pt2015 was deleted using CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing technology, and the researchers discovered no discernible difference between the Pt2015KO (Pt2015 knockout line) and wild type in terms of cell morphology or growth.

Pt2015 overexpression could cause P. tricornutum cells to change from their fusiform morphology to a triradiate morphology with a unique spatial structure, suggesting that Pt2015 protein is a positive trigger factor for the transition of P. tricornutum cells from fusiform to triradiate.

The triradiate strain’s economic traits, which were brought on by Pt2015 overexpression, were remarkably stable. According to Prof. Wang, the triradiate strain displayed a three-dimensional three-radial pattern and had a clear resistance to the amoeba-like algivorous microzooplankton.

Moreover, the total lipid content in triradiate strain cells was about 30% higher than that of the wild type, and the growth rate was no different from that of the wild type.”

Shan Gao, Study First Author and Associate Professor, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences