Klapper Franziska Alessandra, Pohnert Georg
Institute for Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, Bioorganic Analytics, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Lessingstrasse 8, Jena 1, 07743, Germany.
Trasfer Group Antiinfectives, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology (HKI), Jena, 07745, Germany.
Chempluschem. 2025 Aug;90(8):e202500224. doi: 10.1002/cplu.202500224. Epub 2025 Jun 30.
Diatoms are prolific unicellular microalgae, contributing ≈20% of global photosynthetic CO fixation. These algae form the base of the marine food web. They are also widely distributed in freshwater and utilized in aquaculture. Despite their ecological and economic significance, many fundamental aspects of diatom biology, including their sexual reproduction, remain poorly understood. This review highlights recent advances in unraveling the chemical signaling essential for diatom sexual reproduction and introduces how natural products chemistry and marine microbiology synergize to unravel novel chemical communication strategies. Diatoms communicate through a sophisticated pheromone-based "language" that synchronizes cell cycles, regulates the physiology, and guides cells to their mating partners. The structural elucidation of diatom pheromones becomes possible with emerging model organisms and the development of analytical approaches to detect these compounds at extremely low active concentrations. Breakthroughs in comparative metabolomics, combined with reliable bioassays, have enabled the identification of the first pheromones. However, only the adaptation of novel labeling techniques and sensitive NMR experiments allows the determination of the pheromone structures. With these structural insights and the availability of genetic resources, a new research field is emerging-spanning evolutionary studies to the potential manipulation of natural diatom populations and applications in aquaculture.
硅藻是多产的单细胞微藻，贡献了全球光合固碳量的约20%。这些藻类构成了海洋食物网的基础。它们在淡水中也广泛分布，并被用于水产养殖。尽管硅藻具有生态和经济意义，但硅藻生物学的许多基本方面，包括它们的有性繁殖，仍然知之甚少。这篇综述重点介绍了在揭示硅藻有性繁殖所必需的化学信号方面的最新进展，并介绍了天然产物化学和海洋微生物学如何协同作用以揭示新的化学通讯策略。硅藻通过一种复杂的基于信息素的“语言”进行通讯，这种语言能同步细胞周期、调节生理功能并引导细胞找到它们的交配伙伴。随着新兴模式生物的出现以及在极低活性浓度下检测这些化合物的分析方法的发展，硅藻信息素的结构解析成为可能。比较代谢组学的突破，结合可靠的生物测定，使得首批信息素得以鉴定。然而，只有采用新颖的标记技术和灵敏的核磁共振实验才能确定信息素的结构。有了这些结构方面的认识以及遗传资源的可得性，一个新的研究领域正在兴起——涵盖从进化研究到对天然硅藻种群的潜在操控以及在水产养殖中的应用。
