Efficient CRISPR/Cas-mediated homologous recombination in the model diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana

CRISPR/Cas enables targeted genome editing in many different plant and algal species including the model diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana . However, efficient gene targeting by homologous recombination (HR) to date is only reported for photosynthetic organisms in their haploid life-cycle phase, and there are no examples of efficient nuclease-meditated HR in any photosynthetic organism. Here, a CRISPR/Cas construct, assembled using Golden Gate cloning, enabled highly efficient HR for the first time in a diploid photosynthetic organism. HR was induced in T. pseudonana by means of sequence specific CRISPR/Cas, paired with a donor matrix, generating substitution of the silacidin gene by a resistance cassette (FCP:NAT). Approximately 85% of NAT resistant T. pseudonana colonies screened positive for HR using a nested PCR approach and confirmed by sequencing of the PCR products. The knockout of the silacidin gene in T. pseudonana caused a significant increase in cell size, confirming the role of this gene for cell-size regulation in centric diatoms. Highly efficient gene targeting by HR makes T. pseudonana as genetically tractable as Nannochloropsis and Physcomitrella, hence rapidly advancing functional diatom biology, bionanotechnology and any biotechnological application targeted on harnessing the metabolic potential of diatoms.