Molecular Approaches to the Study of the Ocean

Marine biological science is now studied at the molecular level and although research scientists depend on information gained using molecular techniques, there is no book explaining the philosophy of this approach. Molecular Approaches to the Study of the Ocean introduces the reasons why molecular technology is such a powerful tool in the study of the oceans, describing the types of techniques that can be used, why they are useful and gives examples of their application. Molecular biological techniques allow phylogenetic relationships to be explored in a manner that no macroscopic method can; although the book deals with organisms near the base of the marine food web, the ideas can be used in studies of macroorganisms as well as those in freshwater environments.

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Molecular phylogenetics: new perspective on the ecology, evolution and biodiversity of marine organisms. Molecular approaches to microbial biomass estimation in the sea. Molecular approaches to studies of the activities of marine organisms. Marine virus ecology. Environmental control of gene expression in bacteria. Protein profile analysis for investigating genetic functions in microbial communities. Phylogenetic analysis of marine phytoplankton. Molecular markers of phytoplankton physiological status and their application at the level of individual cells. Phytoplankton activity through the measurement of ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase gene expression (RuBisCO). Phytoplankton growth studies by cell cycle analysis. Immunofluorescence approaches in the study of phytoplankton. Biochemical and molecular methods for the study of marine fungi. Nitrogen fixation in the marine environment: genetic potential and nitrogenase expression. Population genetics and phylogeny of planktonic copepods. Towards the molecular analysis of copepod production. Ecophysiology of lipids in pelagic crustacean zooplankton communities. Molecular analysis of invertebrate development and growth: identification of developmentally regulated genes in model and commercially important species. Molecular studies of marine invertebrate biodiversity: status and prospects. Molluscan adhesive protein genes. Macroalgal phylogeny. Molecules, organelles and cells: fluorescence microscopy and red algal development. Sponge cell culture. Techniques for exploring symbiosis-specific gene expression in cnidarian/algal associations. Addressing the microbial ecology of marine biofilms. Incorporation of radioactive precursors into macromolecules as measures of bacterial growth: problems and pitfalls. Marine toxins: how they are studied and what they can tell us. Databases for use in molecular biology: concepts in their design, access and use.