Green Jessica L, Bohannan Brendan J M, Whitaker Rachel J
Center for Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Department of Biology, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon 97403, USA.
Science. 2008 May 23;320(5879):1039-43. doi: 10.1126/science.1153475.
The biogeographic variation of life has predominantly been studied using taxonomy, but this focus is changing. There is a resurging interest in understanding patterns in the distribution not only of taxa but also of the traits those taxa possess. Patterns of trait variation shed light on fundamental questions in biology, including why organisms live where they do and how they will respond to environmental change. Technological advances such as environmental genomics place microbial ecology in a unique position to move trait-based biogeography forward. We anticipate that as trait-based biogeography continues to evolve, micro- and macroorganisms will be studied in concert, establishing a science that is informed by and relevant to all domains of life.
生命的生物地理变异主要是通过分类学进行研究的，但这种关注点正在发生变化。人们对理解生物分布模式的兴趣再度兴起，这些模式不仅涉及分类单元，还包括这些分类单元所具有的性状。性状变异模式有助于阐明生物学中的基本问题，包括生物为何生活在它们所处的地方以及它们将如何应对环境变化。环境基因组学等技术进步使微生物生态学处于推动基于性状的生物地理学发展的独特地位。我们预计，随着基于性状的生物地理学不断发展，微生物和宏观生物将协同进行研究，从而建立一门以生命的所有领域为依据且与之相关的科学。
