Culturing Bias in Marine Heterotrophic Flagellates Analyzed Through Seawater Enrichment Incubations

Abstract

The diversity of heterotrophic flagellates is generally based on cultivated strains, on which ultrastructural studies are carried out. However, the vast majority of heterotrophic flagellates are not cultivated, leading to an underestimation of their true diversity. Culture-independent approaches using 18S rRNA gene surveys have revealed this greater diversity, but the link between sequence and morphology remains challenging.

Javier del Campo

Group Leader

My research aims at understanding the global diversity and distribution of eukaryotic and prokaryotic microbes employing curated phylogenetic frameworks focusing on novel environmental taxa.