Phylogenetic information from ribosomal RNA genes directly amplified from the environment changed our view of the biosphere, revealing an extraordinary diversity of previously undetected prokaryotic lineages. Using ribosomal RNA genes from marine picoplankton, several new groups of bacteria and archaea have been identified, some of which are abundant. Little is known, however, about the diversity of the smallest planktonic eukaryotes, and available information in general concerns the phytoplankton of the euphotic region. Here we recover eukaryotes in the size fraction 0.2-5 microm from the aphotic zone (250-3,000 m deep) in the Antarctic polar front. The most diverse and relatively abundant were two new groups of alveolate sequences, related to dinoflagellates that are found at all studied depths. These may be important components of the microbial community in the deep ocean. Their phylogenetic position suggests a radiation early in the evolution of alveolates.
All communities are dominated by a few species that account for most of the biomass and carbon cycling. On the other hand, a large number of species are represented by only a few individuals. In the case of bacteria, these rare species were until recently invisible. Owing to their low numbers, conventional molecular techniques could not retrieve them. Isolation in pure culture was the only way to identify some of them, but current culturing techniques are unable to isolate most of the bacteria in nature. The recent development of fast and cheap high-throughput sequencing has begun to allow access to the rare species. In the case of bacteria, the exploration of this rare biosphere has several points of interest. First, it will eventually produce a reasonable estimate of the total number of bacterial taxa in the oceans; right now, we do not even know the right order of magnitude. Second, it will answer the question of whether "everything is everywhere." Third, it will require hypothesizing and testing the ecological mechanisms that allow subsistence of many species in low numbers. And fourth, it will open an avenue of research into the immense reserve of genes with potential applications hidden in the rare biosphere.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.