# A single enzyme becomes a Swiss Army knife

## TL;DR

A diatom evolved to break down brown algae by gaining a single set of genes through horizontal transfer, allowing it to thrive in a new ecological niche.

## Contribution

The study reveals how a single horizontal gene transfer event led to the evolution of a complete enzymatic system in a diatom.

## Key findings

- Nitzschia sing1 gained the ability to break down alginate from brown algae via horizontal gene transfer.
- This adaptation allowed the diatom to access a new ecological niche by utilizing brown algae as a carbon source.

## Abstract

An alga that abandoned photosynthesis? A study published in PLOS Biology shows that from a single horizontal gene transfer event, the diatom Nitzschia sing1 evolved a complete enzymatic machinery to break down alginate from brown algae, unlocking a new ecological niche.An alga that abandoned photosynthesis? This Primer explores a PLOS Biology study showing that a single horizontal gene transfer event allowed the diatom Nitzschia sing1 to evolve a complete enzymatic machinery to break down alginate from brown algae, unlocking a new ecological niche.

An alga that abandoned photosynthesis? This Primer explores a PLOS Biology study showing that a single horizontal gene transfer event allowed the diatom Nitzschia sing1 to evolve a complete enzymatic machinery to break down alginate from brown algae, unlocking a new ecological niche.