title: Molecular regulation of the diatom cell cycle.
abstract: Accounting for almost one-fifth of the primary production on Earth, the unicellular eukaryotic group of diatoms plays a key ecological and biogeochemical role in our contemporary oceans. Furthermore, as producers of various lipids and pigments, and characterized by their finely ornamented silica cell wall, diatoms hold great promise for different industrial fields, including biofuel production, nanotechnology, and pharmaceutics. However, in spite of their major ecological importance and their high commercial value, little is known about the mechanisms that control the diatom life and cell cycle. To date, both microscopic and genomic analyses have revealed that diatoms exhibit specific and unique mechanisms of cell division compared with those found in the classical model organisms. Here, we review the structural peculiarities of diatom cell proliferation, highlight the regulation of their major cell cycle checkpoints by environmental factors, and discuss recent progress in molecular cell division research.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Systems Biology, VIB, B-9052 Gent, Belgium Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, B-9052 Gent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Marie J J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Huysman
authors.affiliation: Protistology and Aquatic Ecology, Department of Biology, Ghent University, B-9000 Gent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Wim
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Vyverman
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Systems Biology, VIB, B-9052 Gent, Belgium Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, B-9052 Gent, Belgium lieven.deveylder@psb.vib-ugent.be.
authors.forename: Lieven
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: De Veylder
mesh_terms: D002453:Cell Cycle; D017377:Diatoms / Q000166:cytology*; D015388:Organelles / Q000648:ultrastructure
keywords: CDK; cell division; checkpoints; cyclin; diatom; mitosis.