Functional investigations in diatoms need more than a transcriptomic approach

The particular gene complement in diatoms, inherited from various types of organisms, has contributed to the development of metabolic networks that contrast with those found in other photosynthetic organisms. To understand these networks and how they are linked, transcriptomic, proteomic and metabolomic approaches have been used over the last decade. Understanding how these networks developed and interact remains a major goal for physiologists. Metabolic compartmentalization and fluxes between compartments are still poorly known, requiring: (1) the localization of proteins and biological activities, as well as potential protein isoforms and (2) relating metabolite measurements to pathway fluxes. Moreover, when considering metabolism, the identification of transcription factors, which are largely unknown for diatoms, is necessary. Integration of the results from these different approaches will complete our understanding of cell functioning and how differences impact metabolic reorientation.