Bozarth Andrew, Maier Uwe-G, Zauner Stefan
Fachbereich Biologie-Zellbiologie, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Karl-von-Frisch-Str. 8, 35032 Marburg, Germany.
Appl Microbiol Biotechnol. 2009 Feb;82(2):195-201. doi: 10.1007/s00253-008-1804-8. Epub 2008 Dec 11.
Diatoms have played a decisive role in the ecosystem for millions of years as one of the foremost set of oxygen synthesizers on earth and as one of the most important sources of biomass in oceans. Previously, diatoms have been almost exclusively limited to academic research with little consideration of their practical uses beyond the most rudimentary of applications. Efforts have been made to establish them as decisively useful in such commercial and industrial applications as the carbon neutral synthesis of fuels, pharmaceuticals, health foods, biomolecules, materials relevant to nanotechnology, and bioremediators of contaminated water. Progress in the technologies of diatom molecular biology such as genome projects from model organisms, as well as culturing conditions and photobioreactor efficiency, may be able to be combined in the near future to make diatoms a lucrative source of novel substances with widespread relevance.
数百万年来，硅藻作为地球上最重要的氧气合成者之一以及海洋中最重要的生物质来源之一，在生态系统中发挥了决定性作用。以前，硅藻几乎完全局限于学术研究，除了最基本的应用外，很少考虑它们的实际用途。人们已努力使硅藻在诸如燃料的碳中和合成、药品、健康食品、生物分子、纳米技术相关材料以及受污染水的生物修复剂等商业和工业应用中具有决定性的用途。硅藻分子生物学技术的进展，如来自模式生物的基因组计划，以及培养条件和光生物反应器效率，在不久的将来可能能够结合起来，使硅藻成为具有广泛相关性的新型物质利润丰厚的来源。
