title: Prokaryotic functional gene diversity in the sunlit ocean: Stumbling in the dark.
abstract: Prokaryotes are extremely abundant in the ocean where they drive biogeochemical cycles. The recent development and application of -omics techniques has provided an astonishing amount of information revealing the existence of a vast diversity of functional genes and a large heterogeneity within each gene. The big challenge for microbial ecologists is now to understand the ecological relevance of this variability for ecosystem functioning, a question that remains largely understudied. This brief review highlights some of the latest advances in the study of the diversity of biogeochemically relevant functional genes in the sunlit ocean.
authors: Departament de Biologia Marina i Oceanografia, Institut de Ciències del Mar, CSIC, Pg Marítim de la Barceloneta 37-49, 08003 Barcelona, Catalunya, Spain. Electronic address: iferrera@icm.csic.es.
authors: Isabel
authors: I
authors: Ferrera
authors: Departament de Biologia Marina i Oceanografia, Institut de Ciències del Mar, CSIC, Pg Marítim de la Barceloneta 37-49, 08003 Barcelona, Catalunya, Spain.
authors: Marta
authors: M
authors: Sebastian
authors: Departament de Biologia Marina i Oceanografia, Institut de Ciències del Mar, CSIC, Pg Marítim de la Barceloneta 37-49, 08003 Barcelona, Catalunya, Spain.
authors: Silvia G
authors: SG
authors: Acinas
authors: Departament de Biologia Marina i Oceanografia, Institut de Ciències del Mar, CSIC, Pg Marítim de la Barceloneta 37-49, 08003 Barcelona, Catalunya, Spain.
authors: Josep M
authors: JM
authors: Gasol
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D044822:Biodiversity; D014644:Genetic Variation; D059013:Microbial Consortia / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D012623:Seawater / Q000382:microbiology*; D013472:Sunlight