Research in extreme environments has substantially expanded our understanding of the
ecology and evolution of life on Earth, but a major group of organisms has been largely …

Horizontal gene transfer (HGT), the movement of genetic material across branches of the
tree of life, is well established in prokaryotes and uncontroversial. This is explained in part …

Background Dinoflagellates in the family Symbiodiniaceae are important photosynthetic
symbionts in cnidarians (such as corals) and other coral reef organisms. Breakdown of the …

Background Phytoplankton communities significantly contribute to global biogeochemical
cycles of elements and underpin marine food webs. Although their uncultured genomic …

Dinoflagellates are diverse and ecologically important protists characterized by many
morphological and molecular traits that set them apart from other eukaryotes. These features …

Sea ice is a critical component of the Earth's Climate System and a unique habitat. Sea-ice
changes prior to the satellite era are poorly documented, and proxy methods are needed to …

The application of meta-barcoding, qPCR, and metagenomics to aquatic eukaryotic
microbial communities requires knowledge of genomic copy number variability (CNV). CNV …

Microbial communities in the world ocean are affected strongly by oceanic circulation,
creating characteristic marine biomes. The high connectivity of most of the ocean makes it …

Zinc is an essential trace metal for oceanic primary producers with the highest
concentrations in polar oceans. However, its role in the biological functioning and adaptive …

Background “Red tides” are harmful algal blooms caused by dinoflagellate microalgae that
accumulate toxins lethal to other organisms, including humans via consumption of …