Metamorphosis of a unicellular green alga in the presence of acetate and a spatially structured 3-dimensional environment

Photosynthetic protists, named microalgae, are key players in global primary production. The green microalga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii is a well-studied model organism. In nature, it dwells in wet and highly inhomogeneous soil, which is not mimicked by standard liquid laboratory conditions. Here, we maintained the algae in a liquid environment with spatially structured 3-D components (S3-D) recreating natural conditions.