Iron metabolism strategies in diatoms

Diatoms are one of the most successful group of photosynthetic eukaryotes in the contemporary ocean. They are ubiquitously distributed and are the most abundant primary producers in polar waters. Equally remarkable is their ability to tolerate iron deprivation and respond to periodic iron fertilization. Despite their relatively large cell sizes, diatoms tolerate iron limitation and frequently dominate iron-stimulated phytoplankton blooms, both natural and artificial. Here, we review the main iron use strategies of diatoms, including their ability to assimilate and store a range of iron sources, and the adaptations of their photosynthetic machinery and architecture to iron deprivation. Our synthesis relies on published literature and is complemented by a search of 82 diatom transcriptomes, including information collected from seven representatives of the most abundant diatom genera in the world’s oceans.