title: Techniques for quantifying phytoplankton biodiversity.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Marine Laboratory (Nicholas School of the Environment) and Department of Biology, Duke University, Beaufort, North Carolina 28516; email: zij@duke.edu.
authors.forename: Zackary I
authors.initials: ZI
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: Adam C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Martiny
mesh_terms: D044822:Biodiversity; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D016172:DNA Fingerprinting; D017753:Ecosystem; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D017404:In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; D056186:Metagenomics; D010802:Phylogeny; D010839:Phytoplankton / Q000166:cytology / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D040901:Proteomics; D012335:RNA, Ribosomal / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D012335:RNA, Ribosomal
keywords: molecular ecology; next-generation sequencing; phytoplankton diversity