Brooks D R
Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
Biosystems. 1988;21(3-4):189-96. doi: 10.1016/0303-2647(88)90012-3.
Explicit estimates of protist phylogeny should play a key role in the development of macroevolutionary theory. Nearly half the evolutionary history of living systems involved only protists, and many trends and traits of macroevolutionary significance originated in protist groups. Special areas of research that can make use of protist phylogenies include: (1) origin of life studies, (2) biotic aspects of the evolution of the environment, (3) developmental biology and evolution, and (4) macroevolutionary trends in the diversification of life.
对原生生物系统发育的明确估计应该在宏观进化理论的发展中发挥关键作用。现存生物系统近一半的进化历史仅涉及原生生物，而且许多具有宏观进化意义的趋势和特征都起源于原生生物群体。可以利用原生生物系统发育的特殊研究领域包括：（1）生命起源研究，（2）环境进化的生物方面，（3）发育生物学与进化，以及（4）生命多样化中的宏观进化趋势。
