Marine Diatom Plasmids and their Biotechnological Applications.

摘要

The long-range objective of the proposed research is to achieve transformation of marine diatoms. The more immediate objectives pertain to the characterization of two small plasmids we have discovered in a marine diatom, Cylindrotheca fusiformis, a species which comprises 50% of the biofouling community on steel structures in marine environments. Specific questions being addressed are; What are the structural, functional and regulatory properties of the two diatom plasmids; Are there sequences on these plasmids which will facilitate construction of diatom shuttle-cloning vectors; What are the necessary conditions for achieving diatom transformation.