Jan. 27, 2006 Scientists have sequenced and compared the genomes
of planktonic microbes living throughout the water column in the
Pacific Ocean. The pioneering study yielded insight into the
specialization of microbial communities at each depth--ranging
from 40 to more than 13,000 feet. "By reading the information
stored in the genomes of entire microbial communities, we can
begin to measure the pulse of this marine ecosystem," said MIT's
Ed DeLong, who led the research team. "These new DNA sequences
from microbial communities will help us paint the picture of how
that world works and provide important details on the players
involved and their biological properties and activities." DeLong
and his coworkers report their findings in the Jan. 27 issue of
the journal Science. The interdisciplinary research team
sequenced a total of 64 million base pairs, or subunits, of DNA
from microbes and viruses they collected at each depth. In the
process, they discovered thousands of new genes from novel and
ecologically ab