Transcript level coordination of carbon pathways during silicon-starvation induced lipid accumulation in the diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana

To characterize the transcript level component of metabolic regulation, genome-wide transcript level changes were documented in the model diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana over a time-course of silicon starvation. Growth, cell cycle progression, chloroplast replication, fatty acid composition, pigmentation, and photosynthetic parameters were characterized alongside lipid accumulation. Extensive coordination of large suites of genes was observed, highlighting the existence of clusters of co-regulated genes as a key feature of global gene regulation in T. pseudonana. The identity of key enzymes for carbon metabolic pathway inputs (photosynthesis) and outputs (growth and storage) reveals these clusters are organized to synchronize these processes. Overall design: 24 hour timecourse of silicon starvation, 7 timepoints in biological duplicate