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Breaking the cell wall for efficient DNA delivery to diatoms.
E J L Walker1, M Pampuch1, L Deng2
1Department of Biochemistry, Schulich School of Dentistry and Medicine, London, ON, Canada.
Nature Communications
|January 22, 2026
Summary
Researchers optimized genetic engineering tools for diatoms, enabling efficient DNA delivery and creating new methods for diatom synthetic biology and sustainable technologies. These advancements improve diatom cell factory potential.
Area of Science:
- Marine biology
- Biotechnology
- Synthetic biology
Background:
- Diatoms are crucial for global carbon fixation but are underutilized as cell factories.
- Limited genetic engineering tools hinder diatom biotechnology applications.
Purpose of the Study:
- To optimize DNA and Cas9 ribonucleoprotein complex delivery into diatoms.
- To develop efficient genetic engineering methods for model and other diatom species.
- To enable advancements in diatom synthetic biology for sustainable technologies.
Main Methods:
- Optimized electroporation and polyethylene glycol (PEG) transformation methods were developed for Phaeodactylum tricornutum.
- High-efficiency delivery of DNA and Cas9 ribonucleoprotein complexes was achieved.
- Methods were adapted for Thalassiosira pseudonana, demonstrating broad applicability.
Main Results:
- Efficient transformation of diatoms using as little as 1 ng of DNA.
- Successful introduction of large episomes (up to 55.6 kb).
- Discovery of a novel in vivo episome assembly mechanism (DIVA) in diatoms.
Conclusions:
- Optimized methods significantly enhance genetic engineering capabilities in diatoms.
- The development of diatom in vivo assembly (DIVA) offers new synthetic biology approaches.
- These tools accelerate the engineering of diatoms for sustainable technology development.
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