Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island, Narragansett, RI, USA.
Adv Mar Biol. 2011;60:1-39. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-12-385529-9.00001-9.
The phytoplankton are key members of marine ecosystems, generating about half of global primary productivity, supporting valuable fisheries and regulating global biogeochemical cycles. Marine phytoplankton are phylogenetically diverse and are comprised of both prokaryotic and eukaryotic species. In the last decade, new insights have been gained into the ecology and evolution of these important organisms through whole genome sequencing projects and more recently, through both transcriptomics and targeted metagenomics approaches. Sequenced genomes of cyanobacteria are generally small, ranging in size from 1.8 to 9 million base pairs (Mbp). Eukaryotic genomes, in general, have a much larger size range and those that have been sequenced range from 12 to 57 Mbp. Whole genome sequencing projects have revealed key features of the evolutionary history of marine phytoplankton, their varied responses to environmental stress, their ability to scavenge and store nutrients and their unique ability to form elaborate cellular coverings. We have begun to learn how to read the 'language' of marine phytoplankton, as written in their DNA. Here, we review the ecological and evolutionary insights gained from whole genome sequencing projects, illustrate how these genomes are yielding information on marine natural products and informing nanotechnology as well as make suggestions for future directions in the field of marine phytoplankton genomics.
浮游植物是海洋生态系统的关键成员，它们产生了约全球初级生产力的一半，支持着有价值的渔业，并调节着全球生物地球化学循环。海洋浮游植物在系统发生上具有多样性，包括原核生物和真核生物。在过去的十年中，通过全基因组测序项目以及最近的转录组学和靶向宏基因组学方法，人们对这些重要生物的生态学和进化有了新的认识。蓝藻的测序基因组通常较小，大小在 180 万至 900 万碱基对（Mbp）之间。真核生物基因组的大小范围一般更大，已测序的基因组大小范围从 1200 万至 5700 万碱基对。全基因组测序项目揭示了海洋浮游植物进化历史的关键特征，它们对环境胁迫的不同反应，它们摄取和储存营养物质的能力，以及它们形成精细细胞覆盖物的独特能力。我们已经开始学习如何解读海洋浮游植物 DNA 中的“语言”。在这里，我们回顾了全基因组测序项目所获得的生态学和进化见解，说明了这些基因组如何提供有关海洋天然产物的信息，并为纳米技术提供信息，同时为海洋浮游植物基因组学领域的未来方向提出建议。
