Diatoms are the world’s most diverse group of algae, comprising at least 100,000 species. Contributing ~20% of annual global carbon fixation, they underpin major aquatic food webs and drive global biogeochemical cycles. Over the past two decades, Thalassiosira pseudonana and Phaeodactylum tricornutum have become the most important model systems for diatom molecular research, ranging from cell biology to ecophysiology, due to their rapid growth rates, small genomes, and the cumulative wealth of associated genetic resources. To explore the evolutionary divergence of diatoms, additional model species are emerging, such as Fragilariopsis cylindrus and Pseudo-nitzschia multistriata. Here, we describe how functional genomics and reverse genetics have contributed to our understanding of this important class of microalgae in the context of evolution, cell biology, and metabolic adaptations. Our review will also highlight promising areas of investigation into the diversity of these photosynthetic organisms, including the discovery of new molecular pathways governing the life of secondary plastid-bearing organisms in aquatic environments.

硅藻是世界上种类最多的藻类，至少包含100,000种。它们占全球每年固碳量的20％左右，为主要水生食物网奠定了基础，并推动了全球生物地球化学循环。在过去的二十年中，由于其快速的生长速度，小的基因组以及相关遗传资源的累积积累，Thalasiosira pseudonana和Phaeodactylum tricornutum已成为硅藻分子研究的最重要的模型系统，从细胞生物学到生态生理学不等。为了探索硅藻的进化差异，正在出现另外的模型物种，例如Fragilariopsis cylindrus和Pseudo- Nitzschia multistriata。。在这里，我们描述了功能基因组学和反向遗传学如何在进化，细胞生物学和代谢适应的背景下，帮助我们理解了这一重要的微藻类。我们的综述还将重点介绍这些光合生物多样性的有前途的研究领域，包括发现控制水生环境中次生质体生物生命的新分子途径。