Diatoms of North AmericaABSTRACT
During the last 170 years, data have gradually accumulated on the diatom life cycle, documenting its unique pattern, in which slow size reduction during vegetative cell divisions in the diploid phase alternates with rapid size restitution via a special cell—the auxospore. However, while the cytological events of auxosporulation are quite well understood and recent studies have begun to reveal some of the underlying genetic, physiological and biochemical controls, progress in documenting the phenology of reproduction has lagged behind. Currently, the principal advances in understanding the ecology of diatom reproduction are coming from studies of selected phytoplankton species. They demonstrate tight coupling between the diatom life cycle, population densities, and seasonal changes in the characteristics of the water column. For benthic diatoms—comprising by far the majority of diatom species—there is far less information, much of it anecdotal but nevertheless valuable. Here we make a comprehensive review of the occurrence of auxosporulation in natural populations of diatoms, revealing an unexpectedly strong seasonal pattern, with N Hemisphere maxima in March–April and late summer, which deserves further study. Meanwhile, transcriptomics is beginning to show how reproduction is triggered and controlled and how it may affect population growth and structure.
CITATION
Mann, D.G. and Edlund, M.B. 2024. The Ecology of Diatom Reproduction. In Diatom Ecology (eds N.I. Maidana, M. Licursi and E. Morales).
