Marine Laboratory (Nicholas School of the Environment) and Department of Biology, Duke University, Beaufort, North Carolina 28516; email:
Ann Rev Mar Sci. 2015;7:299-324. doi: 10.1146/annurev-marine-010814-015902. Epub 2014 Sep 17.
The biodiversity of phytoplankton is a core measurement of the state and activity of marine ecosystems. In the context of historical approaches, we review recent major advances in the technologies that have enabled deeper characterization of the biodiversity of phytoplankton. In particular, high-throughput sequencing of single loci/genes, genomes, and communities (metagenomics) has revealed exceptional phylogenetic and genomic diversity whose breadth is not fully constrained. Other molecular tools-such as fingerprinting, quantitative polymerase chain reaction, and fluorescence in situ hybridization-have provided additional insight into the dynamics of this diversity in the context of environmental variability. Techniques for characterizing the functional diversity of community structure through targeted or untargeted approaches based on RNA or protein have also greatly advanced. A wide range of techniques is now available for characterizing phytoplankton communities, and these tools will continue to advance through ongoing improvements in both technology and data interpretation.
浮游植物生物多样性是海洋生态系统状态和活动的核心衡量标准。在历史方法的背景下，我们回顾了最近在技术方面的重大进展，这些技术使浮游植物生物多样性的更深入特征成为可能。特别是，对单基因座/基因、基因组和群落（宏基因组学）的高通量测序揭示了异常的系统发育和基因组多样性，其广度尚未完全确定。其他分子工具，如指纹图谱、定量聚合酶链反应和荧光原位杂交，在环境变异性的背景下为了解这种多样性的动态提供了更多的信息。基于 RNA 或蛋白质的靶向或非靶向方法来描述群落结构功能多样性的技术也取得了很大的进展。现在有广泛的技术可用于描述浮游植物群落，并且这些工具将通过技术和数据解释的不断改进而继续发展。
