An introduction to the special issue: Oxyrrhis marina, a model organism?
Résumé
Many "model" protists are maintained in culture and used, experimentally, to answer questions associated with planktonic processes. Given the current interest and rapidly increasing amount of literature on the heterotrophic dinoflagellate Oxyrrhis marina, we present in this special issue a series of focused, interlinked research articles. Being written by experts in their respective fields, the authors have included unpublished data and in all cases have offered a synthesis of data and ideas. Furthermore, we have encouraged cross-paper discourse, emphasising the interdisciplinary nature of our work and the utility of O. marina to this end; we also offer guidance, both practical and intellectual, on how future research related to O. marina might progress. In this introduction, however, we raise the wider issue of which criteria are required to consider a taxon as a "model species". We then assess the extent to which O. marina can fill this role. In general, we recognise O. marina as a model in three distinct disciplines: ecology, evolution/genomics, and biogeography. Of possibly greater importance, we recognise that if O. marina continues to be studied at an escalating rate, there will be a concomitant increase in realised and potential synergies across these fields.
Origine : Fichiers produits par l'(les) auteur(s)
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