"We believe this is the first time bacterial horizontal gene
transfer has been observed in eukaryotes at such scale," says
senior author Igor Grigoriev of DOE JGI. "This study gets us
closer to explaining the dramatic diversity across the genera of
diatoms, morphologically, behaviorally, but we still haven't yet
explained all the differences conferred by the genes contributed
by the other taxa." From plants, the diatom inherited
photosynthesis, and from animals the production of urea. Bowler
speculates that the diatom uses urea to store nitrogen, not to
eliminate it like animals do, because nitrogen is a precious
nutrient in the ocean. What's more, the tiny alga draws the best
of both worldsit can convert fat into sugar, as well as sugar
into fatextremely useful in times of nutrient shortage. The team
documented more than 300 genes sourced from bacteria and found
in both types of diatoms, pointing to their ancient origin and
suggesting novel mechanisms of managing nutrientsfor example
utilization of organic c