An entirely new group of tiny and bizarre marine algae has been discovered in the Arctic Ocean.
A team of European researchers found the new organisms while analyzing DNA sequences in samples of seawater. (Related: "Extreme New Species Discovered by Sea-Life Survey" [December 11, 2006].)
Genetic evidence pointed to the presence of an unknown type of microalgae, which the researchers named picobiliphytes ("pico" means "a trillionth of a part of") because of their miniscule size.
But the discovery may be huge—scientifically speaking.
"These organisms represent a new evolutionary lineage," said team member Fabrice Not. Not is a marine biologist at the Institut de Ciències del Mar, a part of Spain's National Research Council.
"The discovery didn't provide any sister relationship to any other groups of organisms known to date. It means that this new group is probably a high-rank taxon [group] in terms of classification," Not added—hinting at the huge amount of diversity in sea life.
"In fact, the divergence of this group from known organisms is as great as the difference between land plants and animals," Connie Lovejoy, a biologist at Universit Laval in Canada and another member of the research team, said in a statement.
The find will be reported in tomorrow's edition of the journal Science.
Inside Track
Over the past year the research team has used various techniques to see and count the tiny picobiliphytes, Not said, though the scientists have not yet been able to grow the microalgae in the lab.
The scientists believe the organisms are widely distributed in the northern seas.
The researchers also found that picobiliphytes contain pigments called phycobilins that give off orange fluorescence when bathed in blue light.
|
SOURCES AND RELATED WEB SITES
|
