Fig. 5: Biogeography, taxonomy and microscopic evidence for sexual reproduction of diatoms in the global ocean.

a World map in which pie-charts indicate Tara stations where one or more Metagenome-Assembled Genomes (MAGs) co-express the positive control gene SPO11-2 and at least two sex markers. Colors indicate the genus-level assignment of MAGs. Black dots indicate the other Tara Oceans sampling stations (total N = 143). b Microscopic evidence of sexual cell stages for the genera co-expressing sex markers in specific stations, obtained from Imaging FlowCytoBot (IFCB) data collected during the Tara Oceans Polar Circle expedition (https://ecotaxa.obs-vlfr.fr/). For each MAG at the given station, pie charts show the markers co-expressed with SPO11-2 at each depth (DCM Deep Chlorophyll Maximum) and size fraction (pico: 0.8–5 µm, nano: 3–20 µm/5–20 µm, micro: 20–180 µm, meso: 180–2000 µm). Cases where at least two markers are co-expressed with SPO11-2 are indicated with a black dot. Identifications of sexual stages with a star (*) are unsure.