International Census of Marine Microbes
Encyclopedia
The International Census of Marine Microbes is a field project of the Census of Marine Life
that inventories microbial diversity by cataloging all known diversity of single-cell
organisms including bacteria
, Archaea
, Protista, and associated viruses, exploring and discovering unknown microbial diversity, and placing that knowledge into ecological and evolutionary contexts.
The ICoMM program has discovered that marine microbial diversity is some 10 to 100 times more than expected, and the vast majority are previously unknown, low abundance organisms thought to play an important role in the oceans.
Census of Marine Life
The Census of Marine Life was a global network of researchers in more than 80 nations engaged in a 10-year scientific initiative to assess and explain the diversity, distribution, and abundance of life in the oceans...
that inventories microbial diversity by cataloging all known diversity of single-cell
organisms including bacteria
Bacteria
Bacteria are a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria have a wide range of shapes, ranging from spheres to rods and spirals...
, Archaea
Archaea
The Archaea are a group of single-celled microorganisms. A single individual or species from this domain is called an archaeon...
, Protista, and associated viruses, exploring and discovering unknown microbial diversity, and placing that knowledge into ecological and evolutionary contexts.
The ICoMM program has discovered that marine microbial diversity is some 10 to 100 times more than expected, and the vast majority are previously unknown, low abundance organisms thought to play an important role in the oceans.