REU: Evaluating the Validity of Pigment Fingerprints as Taxonomic Indicators in Coccoid Green Ultraphytoplankton

生物海洋学中出现的一个观点是， 色素指纹，也就是说， 类胡萝卜素和叶绿素，有时可以用来确定 水样中存在的生物体类型。 该方法 已经提出了超浮游植物，那里的生物 太小了以至于无法通过光学显微镜技术来识别。 Fawley博士建议确定色素指纹 与生物化学特征有关， 复杂型，为球形绿色超浮游植物。 初步证据显示一些球形绿色 超浮游植物有一种捕光复合体， 在某些绿色藻类中发现，而另一些则没有。 结果 应该能提供证据证明 表示有效分类单位。 此外，这些结果可能 建议将某些生物纳入现有的 绿色藻类的分类群，可能导致 分类学修订。

An idea which has emerged in biological oceanography is that pigment fingerprints, that is, the types and quantities of carotenoids and chlorophylls, can sometimes be used to determine the types of organisms present in a water sample. This method has been proposed for the ultraphytoplankton, where the organisms are too small to be identified by light microscope techniques. Dr. Fawley proposes to determine if pigment fingerprints correlate with a biochemical character, the light-harvesting complex type, for the coccoid green ultraphytoplankton. Preliminary evidence indicates that some coccoid green ultraphytoplankton have a light-harvesting complex similar to that found in some green algae while others do not. Results should provide evidence whether or not pigment fingerprints indicate valid taxonomic units. In addition, these results may suggest that some organisms should be included in existing taxonomic groups in the green algae, potentially resulting in taxonomic revisions.