Survey of Small Coccoid Eukaryotic Algae in Open Oceans

开阔的海洋覆盖了地球表面的66%，初级生产者主要是非常丰富的微小球虫生物。在任何时刻，这些细胞都是如此之多，以至于如果将它们排列成一个标准的1x12木板形状的填充物，这块木板将从地球延伸到月球。此外，这些细胞大约每天分裂一次，从而每天产生一块新的木板。与森林不同，在森林中，分裂细胞在树上积累了100年或更长时间，而这些微小的海洋植物很快就会被吃掉。也就是说，浮游植物直接或间接地喂食鱼、虾、鲸鱼等，使这块令人惊叹的“登月木板”每天都被生产和食用。因此，海水看起来是透明的，没有森林般的生物量积累。在这些微小的生物中，真核藻类是一个重要的组成部分。然而，它们的形态非常简单，几乎不可能用光学或电子显微镜来识别。虽然在外观上非常相似(很少的球形细胞)，但从DNA研究中可以明显看出，这些生物代表了几个非常不同的进化群体。直到最近才变得明显的是，需要进行涉及基因序列分析的分子研究来了解这种生物多样性。养殖库，特别是毕格罗实验室的普罗瓦索利-吉拉德国家海洋浮游植物培养中心(CCMP)，保存着来自大西洋、太平洋和印度洋蓝水区的许多种不明的微小球状海洋藻类。在罗伯特·安德森博士的这项研究中，将对这些培养物和额外的样本进行检查，以评估海洋生物多样性。这项拟议的研究将利用核糖体基因序列来识别和分类这些不同的生物。将使用额外的基因序列(例如，光合酶基因)来研究神秘的物种复合体。将比较不同海洋以及同一海洋不同区域的物种组成。目前，大西洋、太平洋和印度洋是否有类似或不同物种的这种丰富的微小真核球藻尚不清楚。这项研究的结果将有助于我们了解海洋生态系统及其生产力。此外，初步研究表明，这些微小的藻类中有一些会产生对人类健康有益的化合物。例如，新发现的海洋裸藻会产生大量的多不饱和脂肪酸，医学研究表明，这种脂肪酸可以减少心脏病。

The open oceans cover 66% of the earth's surface, and the primary producers are primarily tiny coccoid organisms that are very abundant. At any one instant in time, these cells are so numerous that if they were arranged as a packed mass in the shape of a standard 1 x 12 board, this plank would stretch from the earth to the moon. Furthermore, these cells divide approximately once per day, thereby producing a new plank each day. Unlike forests, where dividing cells accumulate in the tree for 100 or more years, these tiny plants of the ocean are quickly eaten. That is, the phytoplankters directly or indirectly feed the fishes, shrimp, whales, etc., so that this amazing "plank to the moon" is produced and eaten daily. Consequently, the ocean waters appear transparent and no forest-like biomass accumulates. Of these tiny organisms, the eukaryotic algae are an important component. However, they have a very simple morphology and are nearly impossible to identify using either light or electron microscopy. Although very similar in appearance (little spherical cells), from DNA studies it is obvious that these organisms represent several very different evolutionary groups. It has only recently become apparent that molecular studies involving gene sequence analysis are needed to understand this biodiversity. Culture collections, especially the Provasoli-Guillard National Center for Culture of Marine Phytoplankton (CCMP) at the Bigelow Laboratory, hold numerous strains of unidentified tiny coccoid oceanic algae from the blue water regions of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. In this study by Dr. Robert Andersen, these cultures and additional samples will be examined to assess oceanic biodiversity. The proposed research will utilize nuclear ribosomal gene sequences to identify and classify these diverse organisms. Cryptic species complexes will be studied using additional gene sequences (for example, genes of photosynthetic enzymes). The species composition in different oceans, as well as for different regions of the same ocean, will be compared. At present, it is unknown whether the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans have similar or different species of these abundant tiny eukaryotic coccoid algae. The results of this study will contribute to our knowledge of ocean ecosystems and their productivity. Furthermore, preliminary studies have shown that some of these tiny algae produce compounds that are beneficial for human health. For example, the newly discovered oceanic pinguiophytes produce huge amounts of polyunsaturated fatty acids, which from medical research is known to reduce heart disease.