Thalassiosira Pseudonana

Thalassiosira pseudonana is a marine centric diatom that became the first eukaryotic marine phytoplankton species to have its complete genome sequenced, chosen as a model organism for studying diatom biology because it belongs to a widely distributed genus and has a relatively small genome of about thirty-four million base pairs. The specific strain used for sequencing, collected from Moriches Bay on Long Island, New York, in 1958, has been kept in continuous laboratory culture ever since, and researchers continue to study the species to understand how diatoms absorb light and how elevated carbon dioxide levels affect their metabolism.