Comparative RNA-Seq of ten Phaeodactylum tricornutum accessions: unravelling criteria for robust strain selection from a bioproduction point of view.
The production of biologics in mammalian cells is hindered by some limitations including high production costs, prompting the exploration of other alternative expression systems that are cheaper and more sustainable such as microalgae. Successful production of biologics such as monoclonal antibodies has already been demonstrated in the diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum. However, limited production yields were obtained. Therefore, efforts are needed to make this microalgae more competitive as a cell biofactory. Among the 17 reported accessions of P. tricornutum, ten have been mainly studied so far, some of them have been used to produce high value-added molecules such as biologics. The use of ''omics'' is increasingly being described as useful for the improvement of both upstream and downstream processes in bioprocesses using mammalian cells. Therefore, in this context, it is essential to better understand the molecular biology of P. tricornutum accessions and to unravel criteria for selecting the best accession. Towards this direction, we performed an RNA-Seq analysis of the ten most used P. tricornutum accessions (Pt1 to Pt10) and deciphered the differential gene expression in pathways that could affect the production of biologics, thus providing clues for decision making when selecting the best strain.