In this month's issue of Nature Reviews Microbiology, Moore Foundation grantees Alexandra Worden, David A. Caron, Andrew E. Allen and E. Virginia Armbrust, along with foundation staff Jon Kaye and Julia Klebanov, summarize recent developments in understanding the ecology, physiology and evolution of protists.
Generally, living organisms can be classified into two broad categories: single- or multi-cellular organisms without a nucleus (e.g., bacteria), or organisms in which the genetic material is contained within a distinct nucleus. Organisms with a nucleus — such as animals, plants and fungi — are called eukaryotes.
"Protist" is a catch-all classification for eukaryotes that are not categorized as plants, animals, or fungi. Protists are found everywhere from the deep sea to the human gut, and include organisms such as plankton.
Although protists critically influence the ecology and chemistry of marine ecosystems, genome-based studies of these organisms have lagged behind those of other microorganisms.
However, recent studies of cultured species, complemented by analyses of natural communities, have increased the amount of genetic information available for what the authors call "poorly represented branches on the tree of eukaryotic life."
Through the foundation-supported Marine Microbial Eukaryote Transcriptome Sequencing Project, gene content of hundreds of diverse marine microbial eukaryotes and associated metadata have been made publicly available. This genetic information is providing insights into the adaptations and interactions between protists and other microorganisms and macroorganisms.
The authors also discuss how these data and other new large-scale genetic datasets will be used in the future.
Read the full review here and learn more about the Marine Microbial Eukaryote Transcriptome Sequencing Project here.
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